A bomb exploded early today at a central Rome building housing an association for US-Italian relations and an international affairs institute. Some damage was caused, police said.
The bomb went off at 5 a.m. local time in the staircase of the building on a small side street off Piazza del Popolo in Rome's historic center, police said. No injuries are reported.
They said the device, described as having "considerable power", had been slipped through the wire of the main entrance, damaging the stairwell and blasting the door of the international affairs institute off its hinges.
Both the institute and the US-Italian relations office, which apparently suffered no damage, are private groups. Police said the institute specialised in the study of worldwide strategic balance.
The building houses the Institute for International Affairs and the Association for Relations Between Italy and the United States.
AFP