A total of 630 migrants arrived in the eastern Sicilian port city of Catania on Wednesday after they were saved in the Mediterranean in two operations, Italian coastguard said.
The migrants were rescued from a large boat and a rubber raft on Tuesday and taken to Sicily aboard a coastguard vessel.
The two rescue operations came as the bodies of 74 migrants who drowned trying to reach Europe washed up on a beach west of the Libyan capital, allegedly after people smugglers removed their boat's outboard motor.
The number of attempted crossings has surged this year, with most departures taking place from the west of Libya, from where Italy is just 300 kilometres away.
European Union leaders agreed at a summit in Malta earlier this month to a plan to stop the influx of migrants to Italy from Libya, including 200 million euros to help strengthen its coastguard.
Non-government organisations have criticised the plan, saying they fear migrants stranded in lawless Libya could suffer mistreatment.
