Tourist attacks undermine Italy's crackdown on crime

Two brutal attacks on foreign tourists in Italy this weekend have put the ruling centre right on the defensive about the effectiveness of its crackdown on crime, which has included mobilising the military.

A 52-year-old Dutch woman was raped and badly beaten on Friday night after she and her husband, who were cycling in Italy, set up tent at an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of Rome in an area Mayor Gianni Alemanno called "Godforsaken".

Two Romanian men were arrested, which will reinforce the view held by many Italians that immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate number of violent crimes.

On Sunday night a German couple was attacked on a beach in Rovigliano near Naples and the 25-year-old woman raped. One man has since been arrested but police are looking for two more men.

The attacks took place despite President Silvio Berlusconi's high-profile crackdown on crime, which includes putting 3,000 soldiers on the streets of Italian cities to beef up security, and clamping down on illegal immigrants.

The opposition and rights groups have questioned the move but polls show many Italians find the sight of camouflaged troops on the streets reassuring.

Mayor Alemanno, who like Mr Berlusconi came to office in May on a law-and-order platform, was criticised for saying the Dutch cyclists should have been more careful about where to camp.

Mr Alemanno, a former neo-fascist youth leader, came under fire from the opposition for saying the Dutch couple was "imprudent" to stop in an area with a reputation for hosting vagrants.

Italian cycling association Fiab said it was outrageous to blame the Dutch tourists when "foreign cyclists drawn by the beauty of our country find practically nothing for them" in terms of directions and cycle paths, and can easily get lost.

Mr Alemanno later responded that he did not mean to "blame the two tourists for this serious episode" but merely to recommend that visitors to Rome "behave prudently to reduce the risk".

Saying his words had been "manipulated", the mayor promised to visit the couple in hospital when they are well enough.

The mayor also expressed his support for extending the policing mandate of the military, which began this month.

"We must intensify our efforts, hoping nobody accuses us of excesses or of wanting to militarise the city," he said. "People cannot live without an adequate level of safety."