Australian groom-to-be runs naked through ancient Italian town on his stag do before being ‘lynched’ by 20 irate locals in attack that left him hospitalised

An Australian tourist was hospitalised after being ‘lynched’ by a group of some 20 locals for running naked through an historic Italian town on his stag-do.

The unidentified groom-to-be was ‘visibly drunk’ when he stripped naked and began walking through the rain on Friday night in the ancient town of Nardò, Puglia.

Video showed the tourist acting the fool with friends near the town’s police station as they celebrated his Bachelor’s Party on September 13.

But the mood quickly soured when a ‘large group of boys’ stopped him in the Piazza della Repubblica, kicking and hitting him with bars before walking off.

The man was taken to hospital with injuries and later discharged, but the assault has sparked outcry and concern among residents in the sleepy town, with residents slamming police for not being able to guarantee safety in the town at night.

A group of some 20 men allegedly beat the victim with bars before walking off

It is unclear what prompted the man to strip off during his stag do on Friday.

Local media reported that he had been drinking with friends before jokingly taking his clothes and underwear off and walking through the historic centre.

Stunned bystanders took out their phones to film the man as he paraded through the streets.

Conflicting reports place him at Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Repubblica, streets within seconds of each other in the middle of the historic centre.

Both sit within 100 metres of the town’s police station.

As residents filmed, the man was confronted by a ‘large group’ of some 20 men, who reportedly kicked and punched him.

The man was even beaten with poles before the men walked away, according to Corriere della Sera.

The unnamed tourist was eventually rescued and taken to hospital as police launched an investigation to find the men responsible for the attack.

He was treated and released without serious injuries, Giornale di Puglia reported. 

Footage circulating online has divided residents.

While the act of stripping naked and walking around the town was promptly judged obscene, many rallied against the attack and perceived police inaction.

Local councillor Alberto Gatto took the opportunity to lay into the authorities over security concerns.

‘Twenty days ago in the City Council I spoke of a city totally out of control,’ he told La Repubblica.

‘The mayor evidently likes these skits more, while the Police Station is no longer able to guarantee security and urban decorum in this city.’

Video showed the tourist acting the fool with friends near the town’s police station as they celebrated his Bachelor’s Party

Locals shared fears police were unable to quell the violence on Friday night

The man was reportedly assaulted within a two minute walk of the police station in the city

In July, a tourist sparked outrage in Florence, Italy after swimming topless in a fountain next to the ancient Piazza Santo Spirito.

The plaza is home to a 550-year-old church heralded as one of the best preserved examples of Renaissance architecture.

The woman was filmed swimming in the fountain wearing nothing but black pants.

She even asked other people sitting on the edge of the basin: ‘Are you gonna come in?’, but no one appeared to join her in the murky water.

Locals slammed the tourist bathing ‘mother nature style’ in the fountain, with one saying: ‘Shame should come back into fashion.’ 

‘Why do tourists that come to our home to [do] whatever the f*** they want, but when we go to their countries we have to do what they say?,’ one person commented.