The manner of Matteo Renzi’s rapid rise to power would have impressed his fellow Florentine Niccolò Machiavelli. His similarly swift demise would have appalled him in equal measure.

Italy's Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, has visited the site where at least 25 people died in a head-on collision between two passenger trains.

At least 20 people have been killed and dozens injured in a head-on collision between two trains in the south of Italy, a regional official has announced. Emergency services are already at the scene trying to treat the injured.