Italy elections: Big wins for Five Star protest party

Ms Raggi will be Rome's first female leader

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement has made big gains in Italy, winning mayoral races in Rome and Turin, early results show.

Ms Appendino has been elected Turin mayor, early results show

Virginia Raggi will become Rome's first female leader, in a victory seen as a blow to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his centre-left Democratic Party (PD). PD has secured Italy's financial capital, Milan, and Bologna.

Mr Renzi's image has been affected by the struggling economy after years of austerity measures

The results could give anti-globalist Five Star a platform for parliamentary elections due in 2018, observers say. Italy local elections were held in two stages, with a first round a fortnight ago and the second round on Sunday.

Ms Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer who was little known just a few months ago, was on course to win two-thirds of the vote, defeating the PD candidate, Roberto Giachetti.

"I will be a mayor for all Romans. I will restore legality and transparency to the city's institutions after 20 years of poor governance. With us a new era is opening," she said. Ms Raggi will find a city mired in debts of more than €13bn (£10bn; $15bn) - twice its annual budget.

Romans are frustrated by potholes, piles of rubbish and serious deficiencies in public transport and housing, the BBC's James Reynolds reports from the Italian capital.