The Italian embassy in Albania paid an unpaid restaurant bill from Italian tourists in the city of Berat (centre-south) after the personal intervention of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that he spoke to Ms Meloni about the case of a group of Italian tourists who passed out without paying their restaurant bill in the historic UNESCO-listed city.
“She grimaced and ordered the ambassador: ‘Please pay the bill for these idiots and make a statement! Italy cannot be dishonored in this way,'” the Albanian Prime Minister told Italian daily La Stampa.
The story of these Italian tourists leaving the country without paying their bill made headlines in Albanian media and social media.
The Italian embassy in Albania confirmed on Friday that it had settled the €80 bill unpaid by this group of four Italian tourists.
“At the recommendation of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, we have settled this unpaid bill by a group of Italian tourists in the city of Berat,” the embassy statement said. “The Italians respect the rules and pay their debts and we hope that an incident of this kind will not happen again.”
The rise in prices this summer has been reflected in an increasing number of Italians choosing to spend their holidays on the other side of the Adriatic.