On Monday morning, Rome awoke to find the city under a blanket of snow. The city witnessed snowfall after six years. A rare snow storm disrupted transport and the schools were declared shut as the capital was hit by historic levels of snow. Italy’s civil protection agency decided to deploy the army to clear streets in the capital which were left the city paralysed. Though not much in quantity, snowfall brought excited Romans out for a snowball fight. Here are pictures that prove the excitement of the Romans playing in the snow and making the most of it by photographing the ancient city, building snowmen and snowboarding.

Beautiful images captured by the Romans of the snow-covered city

Overall view of the snow laden Rome

People playing snowball fights

Video of Romans having fun in rare snowfall

The rare snowfall disrupted the airlines. Only Rome's main airport, Fiumicino was operating. The capital's second airport, Ciampino was closed overnight and workers were clearing the runway to reopen on Monday morning. The city which is not equipped to deal with snow emergencies, asked other areas to send in snow ploughs to help clear roads.

Rome's Mediterranean climate and proximity to the sea usually results in mild winters, such that restaurants often keep outdoor seating open even through the coldest months of the year. Rome totally looked like a snow-dusted winter wonderland.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2018 07:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).