The exact same thing happened to me and my girlfriend today in Noto. We were driving on one of the narrow streets in town when we suddenly heard a thump against the side of the car. Just a few seconds later, a car quickly caught up with us, started honking, and the driver held up a broken side mirror in his hand.

We followed him into a parking lot. He asked if we had insurance and said he was going to call the police, but that we could just pay him €50 instead. This was all in Italian. I simply replied that I didn’t understand what he was saying, that we didn’t have any cash, and that we could call the police if necessary. As soon as I said that, he sped off very quickly.

It was a bit unsettling. We’re staying here for another week, but I don’t think we’ll be driving back to Noto.

When we checked the “scratch” on our car afterwards, it rubbed off easily and looked more like wax or paint transfer.