Some 15 million holidaymakers took advantage of the 2 June national holiday by spending four days at the beach, in the mountains or at their country retreats. Last weeks bridge was the first big exodus of the year and created traffic chaos along the length and breadth of Italy, with an estimated 7 million cars making their slow way home on Sunday afternoon and evening. Large sections of motorways in northern Italy, especially Emilia Romagna and Liguria, were paralysed for much of Sunday; a 60 km tailback south of Bologna developed into a 200 km queue of disgruntled travellers by nightfall, stretching all the way from Ancona. The Roma-Nord exit, with 12 km tailbacks, was the main traffic hotspot close to the capital. The next big convoy of beach-bound holidaymakers leaving Rome will make their way to the coasts on 29 June, the feast day of St Peter and St Paul. From then until early September, the holiday season in Italy will be well under way.