Enlarge image
Fire-fighting aircraft near Tivoli at the gates of Rome
Photo: Cecilia Fabiano / AP
A large number of forest and bush fires keep fire fighters in Italy in suspense.
The fire brigade reported 400 missions in the past twelve hours on Saturday morning.
In the region of
Calabria
alone
at the tip of the Italian boot, five fire-fighting planes are in the air in the Cosenza and Reggio Calabria areas.
Several fires are blazing around the Aspromonte National Park.
So far there have been four deaths in connection with the forest fires.
There were also fires in the
Campania
region to the north of Calabria
, where Naples and Mount Vesuvius are located.
The fire department showed a video of a helicopter operation in Taurasi in the province of Avellino.
The Ansa news agency reported a major bush fire from the island of Ischia, which also hit some houses and was extinguished on Saturday night.
The fire in Tivoli east of Rome was extinguished during the night.
The place is known for its Unesco World Heritage Sites Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana.
Extreme heat and persistent drought have favored the flames in large parts of the south since the end of July.
The authorities suspect arson behind many of the fires.
On Saturday, the Carabinieri in
Sicily reported
the arrest of two ranchers in the province of Syracuse.
Father and son are accused of having torched thorn bushes in order to expand their pastureland.
After intensive investigations, an arrest warrant was issued against the two.
The civil defense warned for Saturday of the risk of forest fires in the provinces of Catania, Caltanissetta and Enna and of extreme heat in the Palermo area.
In
Sardinia
, the authorities warned of the extreme risk of fire in the central west of the Mediterranean island. President Sergio Mattarella assessed the situation on the island. When visiting the air force in Alghero, the 80-year-old also flew over the forest fire area in the province of Oristano in the west. "Seeing the devastation caused by the fires makes one understand the enormous extent of the damage to the lives of the affected communities," Mattarella said.
The Italian Ministry of Health issued the highest heat alert level three for Saturday and Sunday - for Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Naples and Rome, among others.
The Coldiretti Farmers' Association reported that 20 percent of the watermelon harvest fell victim to extreme weather, in the south the heat and in the north the hail.
"Addio for one in five watermelons," said a press release.
ala / dpa