Discount coffee for customers who bring own cup, spoon and sugar.

In a summer of negative headlines in Italy about diners being ripped off, a bar in the northern Liguria region is making the news for its low price for coffee.

La Bottega del Caffè in the village of Millesimo is offering an espresso for just 0.70 cents - far lower than the bar's usual price of €1.20.

The catch? Customers must bring their own cup, spoon and sugar from home.

The owners of the bar, in the Savona province, say the initiative began as a light-hearted "provocation" in response to a flurry of news stories of customers being hit with surcharges of €2 to cut a sandwich in half or €2 after asking for a plate.

Elio Venturino, the bar's owner, launched the idea: "Why don't we tell customers to bring their own cup and put the espresso at 70 cents?"

His daughter Valentina immediately printed the posters.

Customers began to arrive, with their own cups, and the story was quickly picked up by the national media.

• The history of coffee culture in Italy

Stressing that it is "no joke", Venturino told La Stampa newspaper that the initiative highlights the difficulties faced by the hospitality sector in grappling with rising costs of raw materials, energy and wages.