The mayor of Naples, Italy, has offered an apology to a Utah man who was beaten by an angry mob there after he chased down two men who had just stolen his camera.

Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino called the attack on Matthew Thomas Godfrey "inexcusable."

"To those citizens who have attacked him I say that with their behavior they have given an uncivilized image of themselves and Naples," she was quoted as saying by daily Corriere della Sera.

Police said Godfrey, 25, was taking pictures of a church in central Naples Monday night, when two men snatched his camera and fled on a scooter. Godfrey's hometown was not immediately available.

He chased the thieves into a narrow alley where a group of local residents attacked him with punches and kicks, allowing the muggers to escape, Naples police said in a statement.

Police arrived on the scene and took Godfrey to a hospital, where he was treated and released. With his description of the muggers, suspects were later caught and police were working to identify the residents who took part in the assault.

Godfrey could not be reached for comment. His Naples hotel said he had already left.

The brawl is not unusual in a city that has occasionally seen large groups of residents siding with suspected criminals.

Last year, a crowd of some 200 people threw stones, bottles and food at police injuring 12 officers who had attempted to arrest two men for stealing a motorcycle.

The arrest of the son of an alleged crime boss near Naples last year also sparked protests by residents, mainly women, who hurled objects and insults at police.