Kebab shops and restaurants selling deep-fried food have been banned from opening in Verona.

Officials desperate to prevent the 'decorum' of the northern Italian city from disappearing have passed a ruling that also prohibits any new restaurants from selling 'ethnic' food after a rise in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Flavio Tosi, Mayor of Verona, said he hoped the ruling, which was implemented this week, would protect the 'typical culture' of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Kebab shops and restaurants selling deep-fried food have been banned from opening in Verona, which boasts dozens of ancient buildings (pictured)

'Thanks to this provision there will be no more openings of establishments that sell food prepared in a way that could impact the decorum of our city,' he said, according to Andrea Vogt for The Telegraph.

'This protects not only our historic and architectural patrimony of the city centre but also the tradition of typical culture of the Verona territory.'

But the ruling has been criticised by some who claim it discriminates against immigrants living in Italy.

Verona was founded more than 2,000 years ago and has maintained many ancient monuments and buildings.

Officials desperate to prevent the 'decorum of the city', which includes the Verona Arena (above), disappearing have passed a ruling that also prohibits any new restaurants from selling 'ethnic' food

The city, which is the setting for three Shakespeare plays including Romeo and Juliet, was awarded World Heritage status due to the architecture, which includes a Roman military settlement and the Verona Arena.

The cathedral, which was built in the 12th century, and the Castelvecchio, from the 14th century, are also popular tourist attractions.

Nearly 80 million tourists are thought to visit Italy every year, making an estimated 190 billion euros for the country.