American student last seen in Rome on 30 June.

A police investigation is underway after 19-year-old American student Beau Solomon went missing in Rome in the early hours of Friday 1 July, a day after arriving in the Italian capital.

Solomon, a visiting student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was due to begin a summer course at Rome's John Cabot University on 1 July but when he failed to attend the orientation course university authorities alerted police and the US embassy.

Relatives of the student say that his credit cards were used after he was reported missing and that his disappearance is "so uncharacteristic". Solomon's family has also asked that his picture be shared as widely as possible on social media in an effort to trace him.

For full statement on Solomon's disappearance see John Cabot University website.