Centre-left retains Emilia-Romagna and makes comeback in Umbria.

Italy's centre-left celebrated wins in two regional elections in Umbria and Emilia-Romagna on Monday in a setback for premier Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing coalition.

The election in the central Umbria region was won by Assisi mayor Stefania Proietti, representing a broad coalition of centre-left parties and civic lists, who won 51 per cent of the vote to oust the outgoing governor Donatella Tesei, a member of deputy premier Matteo Salvini's right-wing Lega party.

In the northern Emilia-Romagna region, historically a left-wing stronghold, Ravenna mayor Michele De Pascale of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) took 56 per cent of the vote to defeat the government candidate Elena Ugolini.

The double win for the PD and its allies is a much needed boost for the centre-left following last month's narrow victory by the government's candidate Marco Bucci in Liguria.

Following the result in Umbria, which was traditionally governed by the centre-left until Tesei upset the trend five years ago, Meloni’s coalition now governs 13 out of 20 Italian regions.

Hailing the "extraordinary" electoral gains, PD leader Elly Schlein said the result "confirms the responsibility we feel as the linchpin for the construction of the alternative to these right-wing parties".

In a social media post, Meloni congratulated Proietti and De Pascale, expressing her hope for "constructive collaboration" regardless of political differences.

Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.