Police have arrested an Italian down-and-out for attempting to murder another homeless man in the capital by bludgeoning him around the head with an iron pole amid a long-running feud.
The 49-year-old suspect is being held in Rome's Regina Coeli jail.
The victim of the savage 23 April attack remains in a critical condition in a Rome hospital with severe head injuries.
Both men had been drinking at the time of the early morning attack in south Rome's Tuscolano district and had quarrelled numerous times in the past, according to investigators.
Police said they recovered a blood-stained iron pole allegedly used in the attack from a nearby rubbish bin. The suspect was arrested on the basis of forensic evidence and statements from other homeless people, according to police.