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Cars and Pizza Ovens Targeted as Italy Combats Air Pollution

  • Rome, Milan take contrasting measures as alert levels breached
  • Wood-fired pizza ovens prohibited by town near Naples
Police patrols Rome to limit vehicles from entering the city center. Photographer: Andrea Ronchini/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Police patrols Rome to limit vehicles from entering the city center. Photographer: Andrea Ronchini/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Rome and Milan have imposed bans on cars starting Monday, with one small town near Naples prohibiting wood-fired pizza ovens, as Italian authorities seek to combat air-pollution that has breached alert levels in an exceptionally warm and dry winter.

In the business capital of Milan, where daisies have flowered in a public park, cars will be forbidden for six hours a day from Monday to Wednesday. On Christmas Day, air-pollution alert levels were breached for the 31st day in a row in the city, where it has not rained for the past 50 days.