Italians were shocked yesterday by a ferocious assault on Franciscan monks by hooded thugs at a monastery in the foothills of the Alps which has left one of the monks fighting for his life.

Father Sergio Baldin, 48, the guardian of the San Colombano Belmonte monastery near Turin, and three elderly monks from the Franciscan order of Friars Minor were having their evening meal when they were attacked by three hooded men who gagged and bound them before punching, kicking and beating them with clubs.

Father Baldin suffered severe head injuries but also has "serious respiratory problems" because he choked on his food while being assaulted. Doctors said he had brain surgery and was in a coma.

Police said the motive appeared to robbery, although the monks only had "small amounts of money". "Presumably the attackers thought they would find riches at the monastery" a police spokesman said.

Italian media compared the attack to A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess' story of violent young thugs, filmed in 1971 by Stanley Kubrick. Father Gabriele Trivellin, provincial head of the Friars Minor, said the assault amounted to "mindless, savage and gratuitous violence".

He said the hooded men had carried on beating the monks even though they offered no resistance. Father Salvatore Magliano, 86, Father Emanuele Battagliotti, 81, and Father Martino Gurini, 76 suffered less serious injuries than Father Baldin but are also being treated in hospital.

Colonel Antonio De Vita, head of the Carabinieri in the province of Turin, said a manhunt was under way for the perpetrators, with road blocks set up in the area of the monastery.