Skiers took to the hilly streets of snow-covered Rome yesterday after the heaviest snowfall in 27 years, while the army was called in to help clear the city and the cold snap death toll rose to six.

Military forces were called to help shift snow in the normally mild-weather capital, as taxis and buses struggled to navigate the icy streets and local and governmental authorities blamed each other for the crisis.

A homeless man was found dead in Livorno and a 46-year-old woman died in Avellino, near Naples in southern Italy, after a greenhouse roof loaded with snow gave way on top of her and the ambulance failed to get through in time.

Italy’s Civil Protection Agency handed out 2,000 shovels to people in Rome and authorities asked residents to help clear snow in the emerging sunshine.

While tourist sites such as the Coliseum remained closed for a second day, some people braved the cold to take advantage of the rare snowfall to go cross-country skiing in the city’s large Villa Borghese park.

Grinning people in ski suits larked around with sledges and snowboards all around the eternal city, while children tobogganed down white slopes. Hundreds of people were plucked to safety after a ferry caught in a snow storm hit a breakwater, causing panic among those who feared a repeat of a cruise ship tragedy in the area last month which killed 32.

No injuries were reported aboard the ferry, which had a 25-metre hole torn in the ship’s side above the waterline shortly after setting off from the port of Civitavecchia near Rome.

Coastguard spokesman Carnine Albano said the accident happened after the vessel was buffeted by a violent snow storm from the north-east.

Emergency services freed people trapped in cars and trains in freezing temperatures. Over 150 passengers were stuck in a train for 12 hours overnight in the Abruzzo region with scarce water supplies.

Rescue workers also freed 20 people blocked in their cars overnight near Rome, and two people were taken to hospital. Over 50 lorry drivers slept in their stranded vehicles after conditions made it impossible to drive.

Tuscany region ordered all emergency services to be on high alert as residents in Florence suffered a lengthy blackout and temperatures dropped to minus 10˚C in parts of the region.

Around 10,000 people in Avellino had no electricity or heating.

In Venice, sections of the lagoon froze over.

Trains were severely delayed between Florence and Bologna and more than 40 flights were cancelled from Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

Six people have died due to the extreme weather in recent days.