Hunt on for Italy lottery winner

There is a festive atmosphere in the town's main square

In the small village of Bagnone, the hunt is on for the winner of Italy's massive lottery jackpot, thought to be Europe's biggest ever.

Speculation is rife among the Tuscan village's 2,000 residents as to who owns the lucky Superenalotto ticket - worth 146.9m euros (£128.3m; $211.8m).

Candidates include a woodcutter, builder and shopkeeper. Italian lottery winners are rarely named in public.

The local mayor has already said the cash could do wonders for Bagnone.

Gianfranco Lazzeroni told Italy's Rai television that he would ask the winner to help fund a planned community centre with a price tag of 1 million euros.

Party central

Crowds filled the town's main square on Saturday night, converging on the cafe where the winning ticket was sold, and celebrating late into the night. The festive mood continued on Sunday.

The mayor said he could not glean any clues as to the identity of the winner.

"I know all of them, I saw them party yesterday, I looked into their eyes, but I could not see any revealing detail," he told Rai TV.

The lucky resident also came up during the Sunday sermon at church.

"I hope he will be able to look after this fortune well, and do good with it and use it to help others through generous acts," Father Marco Giuntini was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Italian state news agency Ansa reported that the winner - who bought the winning ticket at the Biffi coffee bar in Bagnone - had spent just two euros on the ticket.

It was the first time anyone had won the state-run Superenalotto since January. The previous biggest jackpot in its 12-year history was 100 million euros.