A family of three tourists from eastern Europe were charged €72 for three portions of tiramisù and three cups of cappuccino at a bar on Via Cavour, according to Rome daily newspaper Il Messaggero.

When the tourists queried the exorbitant receipt they were told: €15 for each slice of tiramisù and €5 each for the cappuccino, while the remaining €12 related to an unspecified service charge.

On paying the bill, the disgruntled tourists photographed the receipt and sent it to consumer watchdog Codacons with the message "We were robbed". The establishment in question has since been identified as Bar Amore, already the recipient of numerous other scathing reviews on Trip Advisor.

Codacons condemned the incident, unfortunately an all-too-common occurrence in the capital.

Last month four British tourists holidaying in Rome were charged €64 for four take-away ice cream cones at Caffetteria Antica Roma on Via della Vite near the Spanish Steps. The incident received international coverage, with the "Gelato Four", as they became dubbed, even appearing on the BBC.

Embarrassed by the unfavourable image generated, the outgoing mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno (who seeks re-election on 9-10 June) invited the two couples from Birmingham to return to the capital, as guests of the city.

The tourists duly returned and received VIP treatment, being met at the airport by police, airport and city tourism officials. They were escorted to the 5-star Jumeirah Grand Hotel on Via Veneto, where they stayed as guests of the Rome Hotel Federation, and were granted an audience with Alemanno who welcomed them back to the capital and presented them with some commemorative coins.