An Italian model risks losing her sight and will have to undergo intense plastic surgery after acid was thrown in her face, allegedly by her jilted boyfriend, in a revenge attack that has shocked the country.

Gessica Notaro, 28, a former Miss Italy contestant who worked as a dolphin and sea lion trainer in an aquarium on the Adriatic coast, was allegedly attacked by her ex-boyfriend, Jorge Edson Tavares, 29.

Tavares, a bodyguard who is originally from Cape Verde, was reportedly bitter after she broke up with him last summer following a two-year relationship, and had allegedly been stalking and threatening her for months.

She complained about the intimidation to police and in August a court ordered him not to approach her home.