The "disturbing wave of flies", as the inhabitants of the Tuscan town of Orbetello call it, threatens to completely destroy the tourist season in the most beautiful part of Italy.
The scourge with which restaurants and tourists have been fighting for weeks is an unprecedented number of flies, because of which life in the city has completely changed, the Guardian reports.
Restaurant and bar owners in Orbetel, famous for its lagoon and long sandy beaches, say business has almost ground to a halt as tourists avoid going out for dinner.
"We are forced to close two hours early," Caffe sul Corso owner Luigi Drogo told Corriere della Sera.
Some establishments have turned off their outside lights and are only accepting dinner reservations until 9 p.m., but we have gained little, says Marco Di Pietro, owner of the Ovosodo restaurant, as he describes the "psychological horror" the flies have caused in restaurants in nature.
"Thousands of flies gather around the lamps and move like a disturbing wave between the outdoor tables," he told Corriere.
La Repubblica quoted a visitor from Rome as saying that Orbetello was "completely overrun" by insects.