A young boy died of heatstroke in Italy while wildfires threatened a UNESCO site in Spain and French cities saw record temperatures, as a heatwave baked Europe on Monday.

Many towns and cities in France, Italy and the Balkans were put on red alert due to the heat.

Wildfires fanned by strong winds forced the evacuations of thousands of people throughout the continent and threatened popular tourist sites in Turkey and Spain.

The four-year-old Romanian boy who died in Italy succumbed days after being found unconscious in his family's car on the island of Sardinia.

The news came as Italy's health ministry issued a red alert warning for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.

Some 11 Italian cities are on red alert for Tuesday, and 16 cities on Wednesday. Red alerts were also a

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