Violence erupted across Italy on Monday night as police and thousands of anti-lockdown protestors clashed after new lockdown measures came into force.

In Milan a tram was vandalized and police fired tear gas at protestors who had thrown glass bottles and other projectiles in their direction. 

Similar scenes played out in Turin and Naples, where crowds varying in size from several hundred to thousands of people vented their anger at the new measures.   

Italian President Giuseppe Conte has ordered bars and restaurants to shut from 6 p.m. and gyms, theaters and cinemas to close their doors for a month.

The new restrictions have been implemented in an attempt to halt the soaring number of COVID-19 measures across the country that again threatens to overwhelm Italy's hospitals.

Italy was one of the worst-hit countries in Europe at the start of the pandemic and endured a long lockdown lasting several months.

But, after reopening and relatively low levels of cases for the summer months, rates of COVID-19 infection have risen recently and on Monday Italy recorded 17,000 new cases.

The violence in Italy is likely to be watched closely around Europe, with various governments weighing the need for tougher measures against the fatigue and frustration felt by many. There have been protests against looser lockdown measures in recent weeks in a number of countries.

"There's no question that the European region is an epicentre for disease right now," WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan said on Monday. 

Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical expert on the pandemic, also voiced concern about the situation in Europe – and in particular a surge in hospitalizations and rapidly filling intensive care units. 

"In many cities we're seeing beds filling up too quickly, and we're seeing many projections saying the ICU beds will reach capacity in the coming days and weeks," she told Monday's briefing.