They are an enduring symbol of Rome - but not quite enduring enough.

Hundreds of thousands of cobblestones that line some of the city's busiest roads are to be ripped up and replaced with asphalt.

The city’s authorities say that the blue-grey, basalt cobblestones are lovely to look at but cannot withstand the battering of so many cars, trucks and buses.

Hammered day and night by heavy traffic, the cobblestones get dislodged, turning some of Rome's busiest roads into perilous obstacle courses, particularly for cyclists and scooter riders.

The cobblestones are known as “sanpietrini”, a reference to San Pietro or St Peter because they were first laid in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican in the 16th century.

They are quarried from volcanic rock in the Alban Hills, east of Rome, and around the ancient Etruscan town of Volterra, north of the capital.

Pyramid-shaped and heavy, they make ideal paperweights and doorstops.