It sounds like the plot to a dodgy comedy movie starring Ben Stiller but a 'lost' tourist who was found wandering around Edinburgh claiming to have no memory of who he was or how he got there has admitted to faking his amnesia to avoid his 'nagging' mother-in-law.
Salvatore Mannino, 52, was found in Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral by police in a seemingly confused state and suffering from memory loss.
Mama Mia - here I go again
According to the Sun newspaper, his disappearance from his Pisa raised suspicions after Italian police discovered searches on his computer which included 'how to disappear' and 'how to fake memory loss.
To Scotland, with love
Yesterday the father-of-four finally admitted to British police: 'I did it to get away from my nagging mother-in-law.
'I never lost my memory. I wanted to show my family I was important to them.
It turns out that Mr Mannino had escaped from Pisa and travelled to Scotland in mid-September.
The 'How to escape your Mother-in-law' survival kit
Before leaving the family home, he left a briefcase with €10,500 and a sheet of paper with a numerical sequence - a code which was deciphered by his eldest son, 18. The British police initially believed he was in Scotland on the run from the Chinese mafia, but this baffled his family, who said it was 'news to them'.
Family lawyer Ivo Gronchi told local media: 'He can't give an explanation. He asks his wife if she can explain what happened.
'This has all been a bolt from the blue for the family. If he was threatened by the Chinese mafia, he never mentioned it to them.'
Back to life, back to reality
Salvatore was taken back to Italy where doctors said there was nothing wrong with him or his memory. A spokesman told the Sun: 'The waste of time and money hasn't gone down well.' A source close to the family said: 'Francesca is not happy at all.
