Wave of warm weather follows St Martin's Day.

Rome is enjoying unseasonably warm November weather this week, with the unusual sight of people sitting outdoors in t-shirts in the mid-November sunshine.

The warm weather is set to last until Thursday, according to meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici of the weather forecast website ilmeteo.it, with temperatures in Italy currently "5 to 8°C higher" than the average for this time of year.

The wave of sunshine comes in the days after St Martin's Day, on 11 November, an event associated in Italy with l'Estate di San Martino, an Indian summer courtesy of the fourth-century saint.

Balmy November days in Rome pic.twitter.com/bEkyBBwDiW

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) November 14, 2023

According to the popular legend, Martin, an officer in the Roman army, was leaving the French city of Tours on horseback when he met a pauper dressed in rags.

Martin took off his woollen cloak and cut it, sharing one half with the poor man.

After Martin's good deed, the sun came out and warmed up the days of mid-November.