Women survey the smouldering remains of a Roma camp on the outskirts of Naples, torched by criminal gangs and local residents in a revenge attack for an alleged attempt by a young gypsy woman to kidnap a baby.

The Roma or Gypsy community of Naples blames right-wing nationalists in the government, as well as the media, for whipping up a xenophobic frenzy over security and immigration during April's elections which saw billionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi returned to power.

Italian firefighters extinguish a fire at an illegal Roma settlement in the mob-controlled Naples suburb of Ponticelli. Copy-cat assaults followed in other cities.

A child's tricycle abandoned in the charred wreckage of an illegal camp. In the wake of the attacks the European Roma Rights centre sent a letter to several Italian government officials, including Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, decrying what it called anti-Roma "pogroms" in Naples. The Budapest-based advocacy group asked the Italian government to provide protection to all Roma in Italy and to investigate what happened in Naples.

The burning remains of the razed Roma camp in Ponticelli. Repubblica, a centre-left Italian newspaper, published a poll which said 68 per cent of Italians wanted to deal with the "Gypsy problem" by expelling all of them.

Men survey the damage as a fire smoulders at a burnt out camp. Molotov cocktails were thrown into makeshift huts as the Roma fled for the local police station. When they had gone, the settlements were torched.

Silvio Berlusconi was greeted by several demonstrations when he arrived in Naples for a special cabinet meeting, including one by an umbrella group representing immigrants, to protest against the government's new measures to tackle crime and illegal immigration.

Left wing groups protest in Naples. The banners say they are demonstrating against redundancies, short-term contracts and unemployment. Marchers also said they were protesting against 'government-encouraged racism' and the targeting of vulnerable social groups.

Immigrants - many of them illegal - joined the protests calling on the government to give them papers so they can work legally.

Silvio Berlusconi's new right-wing government is preparing tough emergency legislation to tighten screening of immigrants -especially Roma people from Eastern Europe whom many in Italy blame for crime. The gypsy settlements were still smouldering when Mr Berlusconi unveiled his proposals that have left many Roma confused over their future.