Italian small towns cut off, at least 53 killed by cold snap

Italy's winter woes continued on Friday when snow fell heavily in much of central and southern Italy, cutting off a number of remote towns, amid forecasts over worsening weather in coming days. Rome remained on high alert, with schools and public offices closed and snow-removal crews in place, although most of the city endured rain and sleet during the daytime on Friday rather than a repeat of white covering that paralyzed the capital last weekend, according to the ANSA news agency. Italy's Civil Protection Department, however, warned that snow is expected to continue over the night in Rome. Lots of Romans stocked up on food stuffs on Friday in anticipation of possible shop closures or shortages, leaving many supermarket shelves empty and prompting price rises. "There is heavy snow from Emilia Romagna down to the northern part of Calabria," Paola Pagliara of the Civil Protection Department was quoted as saying by ANSA. The current cold snap has caused at least 53 deaths in Italy since the start of the month, including a 42-year-old homeless Romanian woman who was found frozen to death in Rome on Friday, ANSA reports said. While forecasts have varied, as much as 30 centimeters of snow were expected to fall in Rome, prompting the mayor to order drivers to put chains on their tires in an effort to thwart a repeat of last week's massive traffic jams that trapped thousands of motorists for hours. "Rome is already prepared and we are hoping for the best," said Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, who has been sharply criticized for the city's response to roughly two feet of snowfall last week that brought the capital to a standstill for days. The city has increased its stock of salt and snow plows and recruited more personnel, including inmates from Rome's Rebibbia prison to disperse salt around local government offices at the Capitoline Hill. According to local media, Rome has redoubled efforts to guarantee continued bus, metro and taxi services and has made more shelter available to the homeless. In Tuscany, snowfall forced salvage crews at Giglio Island to call off work on the capsized Costa Concordia cruise liner. In central Italy, Umbria was covered in white while authorities described the situation in Abruzzo as "critical."