The River Tiber that flows through Rome is the world's cleanest river, at least for 56km of its 406km length, central Apennine river basin authorities said Thursday. "The Tiber is a clean river: if we only took the 56km stretch from Castel Giubileo (on the outskirts of Rome) to the mouths at Ostia and Fiumicino, the Tiber would be the cleanest river in the world, thanks to the purification activity done by ACEA over the last 15 years," they said.

"Giant steps forward have been taken from this standpoint." Central Appenine District Basin Authority Secretary General Erasmo D'Angelis described the Tiber as "a safer, cleaner river, to be lived".