Security alerts paralyse central Rome after series of bomb threats.
The historic centre of the Italian capital was placed on high alert Tuesday following a rapid succession of four bomb threats that prompted evacuations and major traffic disruptions near several key political sites.
Authorities later confirmed that all reports were false alarms.
The sequence of events began in the early afternoon when security protocols were activated in Piazza Venezia, near the Altare della Patria, due to a suspicious piece of unattended luggage.
Shortly afterwards, at around 15.00, a second alert occurred in Largo Chigi, adjacent to the government headquarters at Palazzo Chigi, involving another abandoned suitcase.
In both instances, bomb disposal units intervened and declared the items harmless within 30 minutes.
The situation intensified after 16.30 when an anonymous phone call reported an explosive device at the national headquarters of Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), the rightwing party of premier Gioriga Meloni, on Via della Scrofa.
Police immediately evacuated the building, which also houses the editorial offices of the rightwing online newspaper Secolo d’Italia, and the Fondazione AN, a foundation that manages the political legacy of the former Italian rightwing party, Alleanza Nazionale.
Bomb technicians with sniffer dogs conducted a thorough sweep of the premises, which yielded negative results. FdI officials confirmed that no high-ranking leadership was present in the building during the incident.
Simultaneously, a separate anonymous call targeted Palazzo Grazioli, once the residence of the late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and current headquarters of the Foreign Press Association.
Security authorities evacuated the staff and conducted a sweep of the historic building, dismissing the alert at around 18.00.
Rome police are investigating the origin of the phone calls, exploring the hypothesis that the threats were coordinated by the same individual or group, possibly aimed at causing public disorder.
While the incidents coincide with a period of heightened international tension, authorities have characterised the events as a “psychosis” likely fuelled by hoaxers.
Normalcy returned to the city centre by Tuesday evening as all affected streets were reopened to traffic.
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