A row over jaw-dropping prices near major attractions in Rome has resurfaced after a group of enraged US tourists complained to the police about being charged £10 for ice cream.

Americans James and Marian Luciani and a friend were left with a bad taste in their mouths when they were handed an eye-watering £33 bill for just three ice creams and a bottle of water in Bar Il Caffe, just steps from the famed Trevi Fountain.

The shocked travellers paid the full amount and returned the following day with police, but their grievance was put on ice when staff produced a menu confirming the price was £10 per ice cream.

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A cafe near Rome's Trevi Fountain charged a group of American tourists £10 per bowl of ice cream

After falling victim to the profiteering cafe, Luciani told The Local: ‘We'd just paid 59 euros for our entire dinner, including a litre of wine, and then were charged 42 euros for gelato!

‘We've been careful in watching out for pickpockets in Rome, but I never thought I would get scammed here.’

A manager defended the cafe’s prices and blamed the Americans for any misunderstanding.

World famous: Ice cream is a popular treat for visitors who flock to The Eternal City

It appears the Lucianis are not the only ones who have chilly feelings about Bar Il Caffe.

The corner spot has received more than two dozen negative reviews from angry tourists, who claim they were overcharged for pizza, beer, wine and ice cream.

Reviews on TripAdvisor warn fellow travellers not to step foot inside the business.

The Lucianis' lesson is one that many visitors learn in The Eternal City: When in Rome, double-check the price of everything and be mindful of where you order your food or drink at a cafe.

Prices are often far less for customers who order while standing at the bar. Many tourists have horror stories about being charged substantially more for ordering while seated at a table.

Freeze: Local police officers accompanied the unhappy tourists to the cafe but they had no case

Last year, Rome’s mayor apologised to four tourists from Stourbridge in the West Midlands after they were charged an astonishing £12 each for ice cream cones near the famous Spanish Steps in the city centre.

The tourists were backed by a local councillor who called for a clampdown on restaurants or cafes charging extortionate prices to unsuspecting tourists, and a consumer group requested an investigation into the ‘fraud’.

A few months later, a group of Italian tourists were charged £85 for four liqueur coffees after they sat down to take in the vistas around the famous St Mark's Square.