One man killed by tree, gales fan flames of burning rubbish - High winds added to the woes of trash-ridden Naples on Wednesday.
Icy gusts toppled trees, bent lamp posts and attacked the masonry of buildings overnight, forcing hard-pressed fire services - already busy with blazing rubbish pyres - to work even harder.
Despite the gales, residents still manned road blocks at dumping sites picked out by waste czar Gianni De Gennaro.
In a Naples suburb, a man out clearing his garden of scrub was hit by a falling pine tree and died on his way to hospital.
The fierce winds caused problems across central and southern Italy.
The main north-south A1 motorway was blocked south of Naples while trains were halted on a major rail line in Calabria.
Ferry services to Sicily and Sardinia were affected and airports across the south and centre, including Rome's Fiumicino Airport, saw flights delayed or cancelled.
A vicious blizzard battered Calabria's mountainous Sila region, isolating villages.
Off southern coasts, at least one fishing boat had to be helped limp back into port because of wind-lashed seas.
The winds are expected to die down on Thursday.
