They say hospitality in Naples is second to none, and one tourist got a singular experience of the Italian city when thieves robbed him of his watch at gunpoint — then brought it back when they realized it was fake.
Two Swiss tourists sitting down for a drink just before midnight on Sunday in Piazza Trieste e Trento, one of the city’s main squares, were approached by a young man, who pulled out a gun and held it to the head of one of the men, before grabbing his watch and walking off.
Seven minutes later, another young man made his way through the cafe’s outdoor seating area, raising his hands in a gesture of apology, saying sorry, and then delivered the watch back to its owner.
The extraordinary footage was captured on the CCTV camera of the bar where they were sitting, Monidee Café.
Piazza Trieste e Trento is in the heart of Naples, with the Royal Palace and opera house, the Teatro San Carlo, in pride of place. Leading on to the famous, colonnaded Piazza del Plebiscito, and bordering the ritzy Chiaia neighborhood, the busy square is known for its cafes and bars, with tourists flocking to the historical Gran Caffe Gambrinus.
Naples has long struggled with its reputation, and while tourism is booming, a spate of watch thefts this summer has led to one tourism boss suggesting that hotels give out plastic watches for visitors to use.
In the CCTV footage, two Swiss male tourists are sitting in the busy outdoor area of the bar, as people walk past on the busy sidewalk, including a heavy-set young man in t-shirt and shorts.
As the waiter brings the menu to the tourists and heads back inside, the young man is seen walking round the side of the cordoned-off seating area, and then walking in from the square towards the tourists. He pulls out a gun and holds it to the tourist’s head while ripping the watch off his wrist. The incident is over in seconds, and the tourists look in shock as they explain what just happened to the waiter.
But subsequent footage, taken just seven minutes later, shows the tourists — who decided to stay for their drink — being approached by another young man in a white t-shirt, waving his arms to show he’s unarmed, and then giving them back the watch.
The reason? It was a counterfeit watch, rather than the priceless Richard Mille contraption it purported to be.
But rather than a goodwill gesture, the owner of the bar said it was more likely to be an attempt to avoid legal reprisals.
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