Rome rat problem linked to city's rubbish crisis.

Central offices at Rome city hall have a problem with rats, according to an internal document seen by daily newspaper Il Messaggero.

The problem relates specifically to the accounting offices, in particular the auditor's office, located in the heart of the Campidoglio, reports Il Messaggero.

The news follows a week in which Rome's Barberini cinema was closed due to rats; a video was shared in the international press of rats swarming across a pavement outside Cipro metro station (see below); and parents called for the closure of a school in the north Rome district of Prati Fiscali after two dead rats were found in the toilets.

Despite the surge in sightings, the city's environment councillor Pinuccia Montanari recently claimed to have never seen a rat in Rome.

Cover image: Rat at Rome city hall, May 2017.