President Giorgio Napolitano on Monday appealed for a stop to xenophobia in Italy after an incident in which three men beat and set fire to a homeless Indian immigrant.
The 35-year-old immigrant had been sleeping rough at a train station at a seaside town near Rome when he was attacked and covered in petrol on Sunday.
Police are questioning two adults and a minor over the incident, which Napolitano described as one in a series of ''horrifying episodes''.
''By now these cannot be considered as isolated actions but as alarming symptoms of a widespread trend that is unfortunately growing,'' he said.
''I appeal strongly to those who have institutional, cultural and educational responsibility to commit themselves fully to putting a stop to any display of xenophobia, racism and violence''.
Italy has seen a string of apparently racist attacks over the last year, including the burning of gypsy camps in Naples in May.
Among other high-profile cases, an immigrant from Burkina Faso was killed in September by a Milan shopkeeper who allegedly beat him to death with an iron bar after hurling racist insults, claiming he had stolen a packet of biscuits.
In October a Chinese immigrant was beaten up by teenagers while waiting for a bus in Rome and a young student from Ghana was allegedly beaten by traffic police who mistook him for a drugs pusher in Parma.
The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner has repeatedly criticised Italy for a government crackdown on gypsies and illegal immigrants, warning that it could fuel xenophobia and racism in the country.
Anti-immigrant feeling has hit a new high here after a 21-year-old Italian woman was allegedly gang raped and her boyfriend brutally beaten by a group of five Romanians near Rome last week.
