A police explosives expert lost a hand and an eye Sunday when a device placed outside a far-right bookshop in the central Italian city of Florence blew up, police said.

Rushed to hospital, he underwent emergency surgery but medics were unable to save his hand or his eye, according to police sources cited by Italian agency Agi.

Police called in an explosives team after a patrol spotted a suspicious package outside the bookshop, which has ties to a far-right group called Casa Pound.

As the experts approached the package, the blast occurred, said investigators cited by Agi. The device had been fitted with a timer, they added.

Casa Pound first emerged in Rome in 2003. The movement now has several hundred members, who stage protests against the European Union (EU) and immigration.

Gianluca Iannone, the group's leader, said it was the third attack against this bookshop whose "only sin is to be close to Casa Pound".

Florence mayor Dario Nardella described the incident as "very serious and without any justification".

Italy premier Paolo Gentiloni called Interior Minister Marco Miniti for information on the police officer's condition, according to Agi.