Hotels can refuse to give tap water to tourists, Italy's top court rules

The Italian Supreme Court rejected a tourist's claim that her consumer rights were breached when she was only offered €7 bottled mineral water. Italian court rules against tourist refused tap water in hotel restaurant Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Italian law does not require hospitality venues to serve tap water, leaving venues able to choose (generic photo) Stock photo shows a person filling a glass of water from a filter tap in a hospitality setting - they are positioned behind a bar with a stack of glasses in frame and wear a blue apron. Italy's highest court has ruled a five-star Dolomites hotel was acting lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a tourist. The woman unsuccessfully argued that "water is a natural resource and a universal human right" after a waiter only offered her €7 (£6) bottled mineral water at the restaurant of the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara during the 2019 ski season. The Italian Supreme Court denied her request for €2,700 to compensate her for emotional distress and economic damage, Italian media reports. Silvio Belardi, the lawyer representing the hotel, is quoted in the newspaper Corriere Alto Adige as saying the court held that "there is no obligation to supply tap water". The tourist was denied water at a hotel in Corvara in Italy's Dolomites region Picturesque view of the Dolomites town of Corvara, South Tyrol. Media reports say she initially filed the claim in a lower court in Rome. They have not confirmed her identity nor background. She claimed her consumer rights were violated when staff refused her request for tap water, saying it was a key part of the hotel's service and likened it to "finding a bed with sheets" and "soap in the bathroom". Supreme Court judges dismissed her claim, ruling that Italian laws and regulations do not mandate venues to provide tap water to guests and that the decision to serve it is up to individual venues. Licensed venues across England and Wales are legally required to serve free drinking water upon request. The BBC has approached Hotel Sassongher for further comment. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary were greeted in the San Damaso Courtyard on Friday morning before meeting the Pope in the Papal Library. Images from a cave where the four Italians were found reveal the difficulty that rescuers had in recovering their bodies. Petrini's movement rejected fast food to promote sustainable production and traditional cooking.