Rome Mayor Marino under pressure after Italy arrests

Protesters from the opposition Five Star movement gathered calling for the mayor to resign

Six people have been arrested as part of a corruption inquiry over Rome city hall contracts, prompting a protest against centre-left Mayor Ignazio Marino.

Among those arrested was a senior official from the cultural agency that looks after archaeological sites in Rome.

Opposition protesters from the anti-establishment Five Star movement called on the mayor to step down.

Mr Marino swiftly rejected their calls.

An estimated 100 people are being investigated as part of the "Mafia Capital" inquiry into allegations that elected officials and business figures were part of a crime syndicate targeting Rome contracts.

The latest six arrests come after 44 people were detained last week on suspicion of links to Massimo Carminati, an alleged gangster detained late last year on suspicion of running the syndicate. A former member of an outlawed far-right group, Carminati lost an eye in a gunfight with police in the 1980s.

Centre-left Mayor Ignazio Marino was elected in 2013

One of the key contracts being investigated is the restoration of the Julius Caesar assembly hall, where Rome councillors meet on Capitoline Hill.

That was inaugurated in 2010 by former Mayor Gianni Alemanno, who has himself been detained as part of the inquiry.

The corruption inquiry is also looking into alleged rigging of public contracts for the setting up of migrant reception centres, which has become a highly lucrative source of income because of the Mediterranean boat crisis.

Tuesday's developments prompted a crowd of protesters to gather outside city hall, calling for the current Mayor, Ignazio Marino, to stand down.

A centre-left colleague of Mr Marino did resign and some opposition figures said the entire council should be dissolved.

Organised crime continues to affect cities across Italy and when Sergio Mattarella became president earlier this year he singled it out as a "pervasive cancer" and an absolute priority.