Italy’s tourism minister, Michela Brambilla, has launched a campaign to stop Italians from ripping-off tourists after a Japanese couple were hit with a €694 bill for luch at a Rome restaurant.

The story broke after the couple reeled out of the Passetto restaurant and went straight to the nearest police station to complain. Apparently the cops felt that €694 was steep, even by Rome standards, and the proprietor is now facing fraud charges.

The incident has left a few red faces in the city which is already suffering from lower visitor numbers compared to last year, and whose €18 glasses of beer are already the stuff of legend. Tourism, which accounts for 10% of the country’s GDP, is down 5% on last year.

The embarrassed Ms Brambilla subsequently offered the couple a holiday in Rome at her ministry’s – that is the taxpayer’s – expense.

According to Blog From Italy, this is the second such incident in recent weeks.

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