Exulting fans in Italy tore through the streets on foot, bicycles, mopeds and cars, shouting and honking their horns after the Azzurri made it to the World Cup final by beating Germany 2-0 early yesterday.
"Forza Azzurri!" they rejoiced as they hit the cobblestoned streets of central Rome, and set off fireworks.
Some fans chanted "Germans, eat, eat, eat pizza!" as they marched up the capital's central Via del Corso. Others splashed in the fountains, including the historic Piazza del Popolo, ANSA news agency reported.
Tens of thousands of people who filled the Circus Maximus in Rome to watch the game on a giant screen roared at the first goal in the final moments of extra time, and began chanting, clapping and waving flags when Italy scored again to seal the semifinal victory in Dortmund.
They were lively from the start, singing the national anthem before kickoff, then clapping and singing "Italia, Italia" during the match.
In Milan, thousands filled the Piazza del Duomo, waving the red, green and white colors.
In the northern port city of Genoa, people lit fireworks and set off sirens, the Apcom news agency reported.
The scene was much the same in Palermo, Naples, Florence, and Turin.
Fans in Venice converged on the city's historic St. Mark's square, waving flags and setting off fireworks before groups of dejected German tourists, Apcom reported.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI went to bed before the end of the match, wishing good luck to both sides and leaving instructions that he be told the result yesterday morning, his personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Ganswein, told ANSA.
In Piazza Venezia in downtown Rome, cab drivers who had partially closed off the historic square to protest new government measures to liberalize taxi licenses, reopened it at the start of the game to allow fans to circulate freely in case of a victory.
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