Venice residents have been left both amazed and frightened by a tornado-like spiral of wind that swept across the city's lagoon on Tuesday.

Footage of the whirlwind, which according to experts was not quite at the magnitude of a tornado, was captured on many people's mobile phones as it spiralled across the waters of the city.

The worst hit areas were the outlying islands, where hundreds of trees were uprooted. On the island of Sant Elena, buildings were also damaged.

There were no reports of any injuries.