Rome monuments illuminated in Belgian flag colours after Brussels attacks.

Rome is increasing its security measures once again, in particular over the upcoming Easter weekend, in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks which claimed at least 34 lives on 22 March.

Security is to be heightened around crowded events such as the Via Crucis Good Friday ceremony at the Colosseum on 25 March, which will be attended by Pope Francis, and the Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square on 27 March.

Security has already been raised at Rome's airports and the city is even considering the feasibility of introducing metal detector security gates at metro stations, according to a report in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.

On the evening of 22 March the capital's Trevi Fountain and city hall were illuminated in the colours of the Belgian flag as a tribute to the victims of the ISIS-claimed explosions in Brussels which left at least 34 people dead at Zaventem airport and at Maelbeek metro station near the European Union (EU) headquarters.

Italian premier Matteo Renzi has called for the EU to adopt a "unified security and defence structure", while Pope Francis condemned the "blind violence" of the terror attacks.