Authorities say that nearly 1,200 undocumented migrants have arrived in Italy over the past 24 hours.
The migrants, who hail from several African and Middle Eastern nations, landed at several ports in Sicily.
Officials say 674 people were rescued and five dead bodies recovered from an overcrowded fishing boat off the coast of Calabria.
Another 522 people rescued from some 15 boats were brought to Lampedusa on Saturday.
The boats had departed from Libya and Tunisia. Lampedusa is one of the main arrival ports for people wanting to reach Europe.
Those rescued included migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.
The landings come ahead of a fiercely contested Italian election, with opinion polls suggesting the far-right Brothers of Italy may gain enough seats to lead a right-leaning coalition.
Giorgia Meloni, the party’s leader, has pledged to clamp down on migration. In the past, she has caused controversy by advocating for a blockade of the Libyan coast to stop people smugglers from launching toward the Italian coast.
