PETALING JAYA: A young Italian woman saved up enough money for two years so she could travel to Indonesia to marry the man she had met online.

Italian lass Ilaria and Dzulfikar, a young Indonesian living in Batang regency, Central Java, had fallen so deeply in love with each other on Facebook that they had agreed to tie the knot.

Ilaria told her parents of her plans to marry a man living on the other side of the globe.

Though unorthodox, they gave her their blessings.

"For two years, I saved money I got from working in a restaurant in Italy just to come to Indonesia," she told The Jakarta Post.

On April 18, Ilaria finally arrived in Batang and headed directly to her future husband's home in Tragung village, Kandeman district, Batang regency.

However, the foreigner's arrival quickly drew public attention with Dzulfikar's neighbours notifying the police of her presence.

Police personnel was immediately dispatched to check on Ilaria and the purpose of her visit to Batang Village.

Accompanied by three policemen, Batang police deputy chief First Insp Agus Windarto even visited Ilaria and Dzulfikar to assess the situation.

"We questioned her to determine her purpose in coming to Indonesia," Agus told The Jakarta Post.

Dzulfikar explained that their long-distance relationship was made possible thanks to social media, and hoped that their love story would end in marriage.