Environmentalists protest outside Rome metro station closed since March.

Italian environmental association Legambiente held a protest outside Rome's Barberini metro station as it reached its 200th day of closure on 9 October.

The metro station, located in central Rome, has been closed since its escalator collapsed on 21 March, and shows no signs of opening any time soon.

Under a banner reading "Che vergogna" (What a disgrace), members of the Lazio branch of Legambiente staged a protest in Piazza Barberini.

"This is the umpteenth disgrace that contributes to degrade the image of Rome in the eyes of the world", the association's president Roberto Sacchi told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

"It is pointless for city hall to declare a climate emergency" - Sacchi said - "if it is not even possible to keep open the few metro stops that Rome has."

The nearby metro station at Repubblica was closed for eight months after a serious accident on its escalators on 23 October. However, despite the station reopening on 26 June, the escalator in question remains broken.

Photo Corriere della Sera