Tourists heading to Rome may find it a little less chaotic than usual Wednesday - that's because hundreds of people are taking the day off following a prediction of a huge earthquake.
Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day.
With memories still vivid of March's tremor in Japan and an earthquake in the Italian city of L'Aquila in 2009, which killed 300 people, it is understandable so many people are taking the warning seriously.
But the panic has not been caused by a recent prediction - it is based on a forecast made in 1915 by seismologist Raffaele Bendandi who said that a "big one" would hit Rome on May 11, 2011.
But many Romans - fanned by SMS, Facebook and Twitter messages - are talking of little else, and leaving little to chance.
Local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do if the ground starts to tremble. - www.dailymail.co.uk
Warm Regard, Sara Pandian
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