|
... 'forestieri' (all strangers, who are said to be "from the forest", meaning rude people), are extra charged. Bars and restaurants owners of Venice admitted that their outlets have more than one pricelists: one for the locals, another for tourists, third for the 'nice and polite' guests of the city. "If you're Italian, a croissant and a cappuccino costs 3.50 Eur", says Franco Conte, the head of the Venetian branch of Codacons, the Italian consumer rights group. "If you speak another language, it costs 7 Eur". Tourists are said to have a great chance to retrench by doing simplest things, like saying 'hello' on the entrance or learning a few words of Venetian dialect.
"It really offends us when they walk in, make their demands and walk out," said Maria Tosi, who runs a tobacconist. "We Venetians spend all our time being polite to each other."
|
