Summer of woe in Italy: Pompeii shuttered, Alitalia on strike, Rome's transport a mess

Italy's summer of woe is getting worse — as tourists face record-high temperatures, labor slowdowns, one strike at the Pompeii archaeological site and another at Alitalia that forced the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Rome's transport slowdown got so bad Friday that Mayor Ignazio Marino fired the leadership of the ATAC public transport company and issued a public apology for the "unacceptable problems" that have bedeviled the capital in recent weeks. Those included transport employees showing up for work but barely doing their jobs.

Separately, Alitalia cancelled 15 percent of its flights Friday because of a walkout by pilots and flight attendants.

Further south, hundreds of tourists lined up for hours in the sun Friday outside the gates of Pompeii, near Naples, after unions called a wildcat strike.