A member of the far-right Forza Nuova (FN) movement had her coffin draped in a Nazi flag at her funeral in Rome Monday.
FN militant Alessia Augello was buried at the Santa Lucia parish church near Piazzale Clodio after dying of post-surgical complications on January 7, at the age of 44.
FN militants saluted the coffin with 'Roman' Fascist salutes.
DIGOS security police have opened a probe into the people who put the flag on the coffin.
They may be charged with apology of fascism, judicial sources said.
Various far-right militants were identified thanks to video footage of the incident posted on the Internet.
The incident was condemned by partisan and Jewish groups, and leftwing parties.
Parish priests Don Alessandro and Don Paolo Emilio said the Nazi tribute to Augello had not been authorised by the parish or the officiating priest.
"We want to express our deep sadness, disappointment and dismay at what happened," they said.
The priests said they "distance(d themselves) from all words, symbols and gestures used outside the church related to extremist ideologies distant from the Gospel".
The Vicariate of Rome said it "firmly deplores what happened yesterday, in front of the Santa Lucia parish church, to the total ignorance of parish priest Don Alessandro Zenobbi and all the parish clergy, at the end of the celebration of a funeral".
It said the Nazi flag was "a horrific symbol, incompatible with Christianity".
It confirmed that the incident happened without any authorisation by the church.
"It was an unacceptable act," said the Vicariate.
The director of the premier's office racial anti-discrimination office, Triantafillos Loukarelis, said the incident showed that extremist groups must be dissolved.
FN's national and Roman leaders are set to go on trial for ransacking the national headquarters of leftwing trade union CGIL during an anti-vax protest in Rome last year.
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