The forecasts were clear: snow and frost across the whole of Italy, but it’s certain that nobody expected such heavy snowfall and such intense cold. After whitening the Alps, the weather system moved into central Italy, where it gave its very best. Compared with the mountains of the north, much more snow fell here and many ski resorts were literally buried. In many areas the fresh snow is more than a metre deep; from Tuscany to Abruzzo the snow has fallen heavily (and is still falling) down to hill level, with snow even on the plains.
Standing out above all is the snowfall in Rome, not comparable with those in high-mountain areas but still heavy enough to paralyse the city. Between 5 and 15 centimetres of snow covered the capital, throwing traffic into chaos and causing major disruption on the roads. At present, an ordinance has been issued requiring motorists to carry snow chains or winter tyres in order to drive in the area.
the Imperial Fora under the snow - Rome
The snow whitened the Colosseum, the Imperial Fora, the Altare della Patria and St. Peter’s Square. For many the snow brought disruption, but for children this snowfall was a chance to have fun building snowmen!
According to experts, Rome hasn’t seen a snowfall like this in 30 years. However, fierce controversy has flared up against Mayor Alemanno, and the web, Twitter in particular (where the tag #nevearoma is all the rage), jokes: “soon Alemanno will issue a restrictive ordinance: only sleds will be allowed on the roads”.
Snow in the Vatican
But beyond the capital, the disruption also spread to other main roads in central Italy, with many roads paralysed by the heavy snowfall. A telling example was a train stuck for 7 hours on the Forlì-Cesena line, where passengers waited for rescuers to arrive, trapped in a train stranded in the countryside amid heavy snowfall and intense frost.
If the snow brought disruption in the city, the same cannot be said for the ski resorts of the Apennines, where the snow was welcomed with joy and great satisfaction. Accumulations ranging from 50 to 100 cm of snow will allow all the ski lifts and all the ski runs to open. “Like manna from heaven”, this snowfall will save the tourist season, which, as is well known, gets going a little later in the Apennines than in the Alps. When it stops snowing, the snow groomers will be able to go into action to prepare the ski runs and welcome skiers and tourists ahead of the ski holiday weeks.
> See the photos of Abetone with 80 cm of fresh snow
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