The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy's contagion, has risen by 546 in a day to 3,095, officials said on Saturday.
It is the highest daily increase since the outbreak emerged.
Lombardy's head of welfare, Giulio Gallera, said the number of cases in the region, which includes Italy's financial capital Milan, had increased by 3,251 to 25,515.
On Friday, Italy's death toll stood at 4,032, the highest in the world.