Rome schools closed on 13 December due to severe weather warning.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi has urged the city's residents to avoid unnecessary travel on Friday 13 December due to the heavy rain and high winds expected.

The mayor issued the warning as she ordered the closure of all the capital's schools, parks, historic villas and cemeteries on 13 December, following a weather alert from civil protection authorities.

"The safety of our children and citizens is the thing that matters most to us"- Raggi posted (in Italian) on her Facebook page - "I invite you to limit your travel as much as possible and pay a lot of attention on the roads."