Tens of thousands of Italians flocked onto the streets of Rome late last night in a damburst of joy after their team's FIFA World Cup win over France in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out in the Final. Immediately after the final whistle in Germany, delirious supporters crowded into Piazza Venezia in the centre of the Italian capital to vent their delight and relief.

In nearby Bibo's Bar across the road from Prime Minister Romano Prodi's party headquarters, delirium broke out after Italy's full-back Fabio Grosso buried the decisive penalty. "It's been a match of intense suffering but we've won it now, and everything's great," shouted waiter Carlo Dilizio, 47, above the din as fireworks rent the moonlight sky. "I bought an Italian flag in 1982 (the last time Italy won the FIFA World Cup) and I took it out of the drawer the other day to show my son. And I said, let's write 2006 on it, and hope," said Carlo. An Italian TV commentator declared that watching the tense match had caused great suffering: soffertissimo!

At the ancient Circus Maximus, more than 150,000 people who watched the game on giant screens exploded with joy at the victory. "I don't believe it. It's a fairytale, it's just great to win after suffering so much.
 

"It's magnifico!" said 29-year-old Chiara. "It's the most beautiful emotion of my whole life, we're the world champions," shouted Giovanni, 23.

For some, as the match ground on to extra-time and then penalties, the tension was almost too much to bear. "If Zidane scores another goal I'm jumping in the river, I swear," said Francesco Pignolo, 30, watching with friends at an open-air bar on the banks of the Tiber.

For tourists, the unusual hush on Rome streets was an unexpected pleasure, turning the Eternal City into a hushed open air museum. "It's been really amazing not having any cars or anything," said Sophie Alidina, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire in England, strolling the quiet streets with her mother, Jenny.