Raggi loses two councillors plus heads of two city companies in one day.

The mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi was hit by the resignations of two key figures from her administration on 1 September: her cabinet chief and budget councillor. Top managers of transport company ATAC and the head of refuse collection company AMA have also resigned.

The city's cabinet chief Carla Raineri resigned following a report by Italy's national anti-corruption authority ANAC which ruled that her nomination was improper. Former budget councillor Marcello Minenna stood down alongside Rainieri, who pledges to offer a full explanation of her "absolutely irrevocable" resignation shortly.

The former AMA chief Alessandro Solidaro also said he quit over the resignation of Minenna, who was instrumental in his appointment less than one month ago.

Former ATAC general manager Marco Rettighieri, in whom Minenna recently expressed “full confidence”, said he decided to resign after his repeated requests for €18 million of city funds to upgrade the capital's aging trains failed to materialise.

The resignations come less than two months after Raggi, of the anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), took office. The mayor has brushed off claims of a crisis, saying the resignations are a sign of transparency.

Members of the Partito Democratico (PD) have described the situation as "increasingly chaotic" for Raggi, although the PD secretary and Italian premier Matteo Renzi has so far refused to comment directly on the case, expressing his “respect” for the mayor's work.