I have my doubts that every time you order bottled water that that is what you're getting...especially if the waiter makes sure you see him remove the screw top. I think lots of restaurants simply refill the bottles from the tap.

Along with being served stale bread, bogus bottled water is my other pet-peeve about Italy.

TuckH, several years ago, the Italian government agreed with you and passed a law eliminating a seperate charge for coperto on a restaurant's bill. Their reasoning was the same as yours; all the things coperto was supposed to cover should be part of the restaurant's overhead in doing business. Most restaurants have removed the coperto charge but some have been very slow to do so.

Jim_Tardio:

Where have you seen them refill bottles of water? I have never seen anyone do this in 9 years of living here. I have also worked in restaurants and have never even heard mention of this. There are some restaurants that have their own water filtration system so maybe you saw them refilling their bottles for that?

As for stale bread . . . . are you sure it wasn't just Tuscan bread in Tuscany which can taste stale to those who are not used to it since it does not have any salt?

I've used Aqua Comunale with great success. They got a laugh, but understood the meaning.

The correct italian translation is:
" Acqua del rubinetto, fredda (cold) o con del ghiaccio, per favore "as stated in a previous message.
Be aware that in some part of Italy (particularly near the sea or in the south) tap water is not so good or can contain a strong quantity of chlorine.
Generally the price of a bottle (1 liter) of mineral water (naturale or gassata) is not so expensive as in France or in UK.

Ciao.

Gianni (Milan, Italy)

Grinisa,
We just returned from a 6 week trip to Italy and France and every Italian restaurant we went to added the coperto charge--anywhere from 1.5euros to 4euros per person. Many times it comes as a surprise because it isn't listed on the menu.

Right on, Gino! That's what I mean; it came as a surprise - at least the first few times it did. That's what's annoying about it, why I made a fuss and why I made mention of it here.

Grinisa, it's comforting to know I'm not alone and from Gino we learn that nothing seems to have changed.

Does an auto mechanic add a surcharge to the bill for his cost to get the grease off his overalls?

Gino: If a restaurant owner has any intelligence, they wouldn't list a coperto on the menu as that would certainly be evidence against him. Tourists should be aware that some unscrupulous places will add a coperto to the bills of forgeiners whom, they assume, are not aware of the law doing away the coperto. I haven't come across a coperto charge on any of our bills for the last four or five years. I'd be curious to know what restaurants you ate in that charged the coperto.

siena_us...

I have not seen them refill any bottles and I don't doubt that you've never seen them either, but that's kind of the whole point, isn't it? If you saw them do it you'd complain. Plus, I'm sure this happens more with tourists than with the locals. I have, however, been served bottled water with one label on the bottle and a different label on the cap.

As for stale bread, I mean dried out, stale (not unsalted) bread. It's pretty easy to identify.

No matter...these are small complaints. Italy is too wonderful to complain about such trivial things.

Order water "con gas" and you won't have to worry about refilled bottles.

Re: I have, however, been served bottled water with one label on the bottle and a different label on the cap.

Very interesting, Jim. Can't say I've ever noticed that but then I've never looked for it either. I wouldn't doubt it happens in certain places. After all, it's not like the only people who pull scams are Enron executives.

capo...

I don't want to imply that this is the norm in Italy...far from it...but it definitely does happen.

As for stale baked goods...I passed a bakery in Amalfi and was seduced by a glorious looking pastry in the window. Inside the store, I asked for this pastry, and even pointed to a tray of them. The person behind the counter proceded to reach into something under the counter and presented me with an obviously day-old, or older, version of the pastry. I politely refused and asked for one of the "display" ones, to which I was told that they had already been reserved.

I had a slice of pizza instead.

Marylin LeCanard, and Gianni are correct...

Ordering plain tap water in Italy is no big deal.

"Acqua del rubinetta freda"

The tap water in Rome is perhaps the best tap water I have ever tasted.

We went to Italy planning to ask for tap water but were pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive (and delicious) bottled water is compared to US restaurants. Plus it's colder than tap water. So we ended up ordering bottled water exclusively. A "regular-sized" bottle usually ran about 1-1.5 Euros and a giant-sized bottle (enough for 4 people) perhaps 2.5-3. And of course you can always take any leftover water with you.

No problem, Jim. I didn't interpret your comments as saying it was common. Scams happen. I know. We got scammed by a gondolier in Venice. Like you said about the water: I'm sure it's not the norm, but it happened to us.

Grinisa,
Sorry, but we spent 4 1/2 weeks of our recent 6 week trip this year in Italy and was charged coperto in all the Italian cities we visited, Sorrento,Pienza, Alba, Santa Margherita, Fontana Liri, etc.
In fact, as I look over some of my bills many list Coperto-pane as a line item, including Restorante IL Rossellino in Pienza recommended to me by the Owner of La Traverse in which my bill for two was 76euros/$86 which is considered a high end restaurant in Pienza.

Crispin: It's "rubinettO," and "freDDo" has 2 Ds.