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A Russian tourist claimed that she had to cut short her holiday after a rat allegedly thrown toward her by an Italian man bit her in central Venice, leading doctors to give her a rabies vaccine and start antibiotic treatment.
The unusual incident has been widely reported by Russian media outlets and the Telegram channel Baza, although Italian authorities have not publicly confirmed the tourist's account.
The tourist, identified as Yevgeniya, said she had been walking through central Venice after taking a gondola ride when she came across the man, who, according to her account, either kicked or threw a rat in her direction.
The animal reportedly struck her chest before biting one of her fingers and running away, while the man also left the scene.
Yevgeniya then went to a hospital, where doctors reportedly administered a rabies vaccine as a precaution against possible infection and put her on antibiotics.
The tourist reportedly returned home earlier than planned after the incident, bringing her Venice holiday to an unexpected end.
However, the account currently rests entirely on the tourist's allegations. Italian police, Venice municipal authorities and local health institutions have not issued an official statement confirming that the incident took place.
A separate rat-related incident was reported in Venice in 2022, when Italian news agency ANSA reported that a foreign woman had been bitten on the foot by a rat while walking through the historic city center. She was later given antibiotic treatment.
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