An Italian antimafia priest who has been fighting for years against crime and drug-dealing in Rome has been subjected to a “violent mafioso attack” in the country’s capital.

Don Antonio Coluccia, 49, who lives under round-the-clock protection owing to numerous threats from criminal organisations, was reportedly assaulted on Sunday night with planks, bottles and sticks in the Quarticciolo district, of the capital, where he was leading an anti-crime march. An Italian antimafia priest who has been fighting for years against crime and drug-dealing in Rome has been subjected to a “violent mafioso attack” in the country’s capital.