Italian police officers summoned to a lonely elderly couple's home cooked them a plate of spaghetti to cheer them up. 

The four officers knocked on the door of Michele, 94, and his wife Jole, 89, after neighbours reported hearing them crying. 

They found an elderly couple overwhelmed by loneliness and sad news on television. 

Photo: Facebook

Instead of summoning social services, the officers rolled up their sleeves and in true Italian tradition, headed to the kitchen. 

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 25,000 times, Rome police told the story of the unusual encounter in almost poetic language. 

"Life isn't always easy," the post read, "especially when the city is empty and the neighbours are away on holiday. Sometimes loneliness melts into tears. Sometimes it's like a summer storm. It arrives in an instant and overwhelms you."

The post went on to describe the officers' kind gesture. 

"There is no crime...there is nobody to save. This time, for the boys on patrol there's a more arduous task at hand. There are two souls to reassure. 

"They ask permission to access the pantry. They cook up a quick meal. A plate of pasta with butter and cheese. Nothing special. But with a precious ingredient: inside, there's all their humanity." 

The post has since been shared across the globe and earned Rome police compliments from Facebook users as far away as Texas, India and Australia.