ATAC celebrates birthday of AS Roma footballer.

Rome's public transport provider ATAC is celebrating the 39th birthday of Francesco Totti, the captain of AS Roma football team, with a series of limited edition bus and metro tickets dedicated to the local hero.

The transport company is releasing half a million tickets featuring an image of Totti, during the three days leading up to his birthday on 27 September.

The price is the usual €1.50 but there is also a special ticket package with a figurine of Totti for €6.

The footballer is not the first Francesco to grace the tickets of ATAC. In March 2013 the company issued one million tickets bearing the image of Pope Francis following his election while in April 2014 it launched a limited edition set of tickets for the double canonisation ceremony of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.

ATAC prints about 10 million regular bus and metro tickets each month.