Some Venetian merchants are keeping three sets of prices: the price they charge locals (low), the price they charge tourists (higher) and the price they charge rude tourists (highest). "Rudeness" includes not speaking Italian. Venetian police are trying to put a stop to it by spot-checking restaurant register receipts against the menu prices and assessing fines against offenders.
"There are different pricing levels," said Franco Conte, the head of the Venetian branch of Codacons, the Italian consumer rights group.
"If you are Italian, a croissant and a cappuccino costs €3.50 (£2.40)," he said. "If you speak another language, it costs €7…
Maria Tosi, who runs a tobacconist, said tourists could do simple things to try to get a better price such as saying hello when entering a shop or restaurant, or learning a few words of Venetian dialect.
advertisement"It really offends us when they walk in, make their demands and walk out," she said. "We Venetians spend all our time being polite to each other."
