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Tourist Trap… Two Ice Creams For €44 in Rome

US tourist couple complains two cups of ice cream cost 44 euros in Rome (Nicole Ann/Facebook)  
US tourist couple complains two cups of ice cream cost 44 euros in Rome (Nicole Ann/Facebook)  
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Tourist Trap… Two Ice Creams For €44 in Rome

US tourist couple complains two cups of ice cream cost 44 euros in Rome (Nicole Ann/Facebook)  
US tourist couple complains two cups of ice cream cost 44 euros in Rome (Nicole Ann/Facebook)  

Near Piazza Navona in Rome, a US tourist couple were charged €44 for two ice creams eaten at the counter, sparking online anger over 'tourist trap' prices, according to euronews.

The episode, recounted on social media by Nicole Ann from Florida, quickly drew users' attention, sparking a heated online debate about the relationship between tourism and price transparency in one of Rome's most visited areas.

The woman explained that she and her husband had stopped at the “Don Nino” ice cream parlor in Via di Tor Millina to order two cups, each with three flavors.

While the ice creams were being prepared, staff are said to have added other products, including macarons and pistachio cannoli, without it being immediately clear that these were chargeable extras. When it was time to pay, a surprise was awaiting.

“I thought they had said 14 euros,” Nicole wrote in a Facebook group offering travel tips for people visiting Rome, explaining that she only realized the actual amount after checking the receipt.

The receipt posted online shows that the two portions, listed as maxi, cost twelve euros each. On top of this came supplements for whipped cream, macarons and pistachio cannoli, bringing the total to 44 euros for an order consumed without table service.

In her post, the tourist described the experience as a “tourist trap.”

Responding to the many comments she received, she nevertheless made it clear that she does not intend to contest the payment, admitting that she should have checked the price more carefully before buying. She also said she had travelled to other parts of Italy without ever encountering similar prices for an ice cream.

The post quickly went viral, attracting hundreds of reactions. Hundreds of people commented on the episode, which was shared across the web and picked up by several online newspapers.

Many users expressed solidarity with the American couple, while others pointed out that in areas with the highest concentration of tourists, prices can be significantly higher than in other parts of the city.

 

 

 

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Varieties

Italian Commuters Find a Moment of Peace on a Cable-Guided Ferry Sketched by Leonardo Da Vinci

Commuters board the “Da Vinci Ferry,” a hand-operated ferry of a type sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, on the Adda River between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo, in Imbersago, Italy, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
Commuters board the “Da Vinci Ferry,” a hand-operated ferry of a type sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, on the Adda River between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo, in Imbersago, Italy, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
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Italian Commuters Find a Moment of Peace on a Cable-Guided Ferry Sketched by Leonardo Da Vinci

Commuters board the “Da Vinci Ferry,” a hand-operated ferry of a type sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, on the Adda River between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo, in Imbersago, Italy, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
Commuters board the “Da Vinci Ferry,” a hand-operated ferry of a type sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, on the Adda River between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo, in Imbersago, Italy, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)

The ferry glides from one bank of northern Italy's Adda River to the other, guided by a cable and pulled by currents, offering harried commuters five minutes of serenity and an alternate route now that a bridge closure has backed up traffic.

Called “Leonardo’s Ferry,” the mechanism of the so-called reaction ferry was designed five centuries ago and immortalized by the Renaissance genius himself in a drawing preserved in Windsor Castle's Royal Collection outside of London.

It is the last remaining of its kind along the Adda River, which extends from the Alps to the Po River in the Lombardy region.

“This is a mean of transport that has been here for 500 years and has always connected the two banks of the Adda,” said Massimo Zoia, one of the volunteer ferrymen who operates the vessel. “And now it has returned to its original purpose: connecting two populations living on different banks of a river."

Despite its name, it remains unclear whether Leonardo himself actually designed the ferry. What is certain, however, is that he sketched it in 1513, as part of his famed studies of waterways, including Milan's canal system.

Leonardo was one of history’s greatest polymaths, filling notebooks with designs across a range of disciplines, including flying machines that wouldn't be realized for centuries.

The ferry’s operating principle is as simple as it is ingenious, and entirely environmentally friendly.

“The river pushes us downstream. We have a cable that binds us, and by breaking down the forces, according to the parallelogram rule, which we study in high school, the force is broken down and one part becomes resistance and the other we use for lateral movement,” Zoia said.

“The rudder is used to adjust the inclination of the ferry so that it better absorbs the stream that hits us and makes us move,” he said.

The ferry is run by the town of Imbersago, and runs to the town of Villa d’Adda on the other side. It came close to disappearing in 2023, when its operator gave up the concession. Determined to save it, Imbersago Mayor Fabio Vergani obtained a ferryman’s license himself and, together with the local tourism association, assembled a team of volunteers.

Since 2024, they have primarily transported weekend visitors from one bank of the Adda to the other.

But they added commuter service this spring after a nearby bridge was closed for maintenance to help ease traffic congestion. It now runs from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., with a two-hour lunch break at noon. Passengers pay 1.50 euros (about $1.75) if they are on foot, 2 euros ($2.30) with a bicycle, 2.50 euros ($2.88) with a motorbike and 3.50 (around $4) for a car.

Gianpaolo Graffagnino lives in Villa d’Adda and works on the other side of the river. He has started biking to work, using the ferry as a shortcut.

“Right now this is the fastest system, but above all the nicest because you get three minutes of peace,” he said.

Mauro Carnati drove his Maserati onto the ferry to bring his daughter to school on the other side, avoiding a long detour caused by the bridge closure.

“It’s true that we spend a little money, and it’s not possible every day, but the romance and added value of the Adda and the ferry are truly amazing. It makes for a better start to the day,” he said.

Varieties

Serious Medical Errors in Britain: Gloves Left Inside Patients and Accidental Organ Removal

The total number of health safety incidents for the year is 403 cases (Shutterstock)  
The total number of health safety incidents for the year is 403 cases (Shutterstock)  
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Serious Medical Errors in Britain: Gloves Left Inside Patients and Accidental Organ Removal

The total number of health safety incidents for the year is 403 cases (Shutterstock)  
The total number of health safety incidents for the year is 403 cases (Shutterstock)  

Among 403 patient safety incidents in England, 17 cases had a procedure intended for another patient, one patient who had an organ or body part wrongly removed, and two who were left with surgical gloves inside them, according to Sky News.

Hundreds of National Health Service (NHS) patients have been harmed due to errors that should never have occurred, including operations on the wrong body part and medical objects being left inside them, new data shows.

Annual figures from NHS England show that there were 403 “never events” for the year from April 2025 to March this year, according to an analysis by the Press Association.

Never events are patient safety incidents that are so serious that they should never happen and are preventable.

There were 166 incidents related to wrong site surgery, including 17 people who had a procedure intended for another patient, and 40 where treatments were to the wrong side or part of the body.

In one case, a patient had an organ or body part removed when the plan had been to conserve it.

Overall, 121 of the never events related to foreign objects being left in patients after procedures or surgery, including 26 cases of guide wires, two cases of cotton wool balls, one nasal pack, and one of a central catheter line.

Two cases involved surgical gloves, 22 were surgical instruments, five were surgical needles, 21 were surgical swabs, and 32 were vaginal swabs.

The data also showed there were eight cases where patients received a procedure that was not part of the surgical plan.

There were four other cases where the patient had the wrong procedure altogether.

Six people suffered incisions to the wrong part of the body, and 30 received injections in the wrong place.

In addition, 38 patients had nerve blocks given on the wrong side and 22 had the wrong skin lesion removed or the incorrect biopsy.

An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS staff work exceptionally hard to keep patients safe and incidents like these are extremely rare, but when they do occur NHS trusts are required to investigate what has happened and take effective steps to learn from them and make improvements.”

 

 

Varieties

Great White Shark Caught on Underwater Footage During Mediterranean Clean-up

People fish at sunset near the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the Mediterranean coast in Beirut, Lebanon, 05 June 2026. (EPA)
People fish at sunset near the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the Mediterranean coast in Beirut, Lebanon, 05 June 2026. (EPA)
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Great White Shark Caught on Underwater Footage During Mediterranean Clean-up

People fish at sunset near the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the Mediterranean coast in Beirut, Lebanon, 05 June 2026. (EPA)
People fish at sunset near the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the Mediterranean coast in Beirut, Lebanon, 05 June 2026. (EPA)

Divers removing abandoned ‌fishing nets from the central Mediterranean, between Italy and North Africa, have captured what they believe is the first-ever underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the region.

The sighting occurred as a team led by the Healthy Seas Foundation recovered so-called ghost nets from a shipwreck in the Strait of Sicily -- a biodiversity hotspot heavily impacted by industrial fishing.

The video, taken ‌last week and ‌released on Monday, shows the shark ‌accompanied ⁠by a dozen ⁠striped pilot fish, that often flank large predators in the hope of picking up leftovers.

Footage and photographs of the shark were filmed by volunteer diver Derk Remmers of Ghost Diving, one of the project partners.

"An offshore underwater shark encounter ⁠in the Mediterranean is insane," Remmers ‌said in a statement.

Another ‌member of the diving team, Pascal van Erp, ‌said on Facebook that the shark had likely ‌been drawn to dead marine life entangled in the abandoned fishing net, including lots of sea turtles.

While there have been occasional sightings of great whites in the ‌Mediterranean, the size of the population is unknown and previous encounters are not ⁠believed ⁠to have been filmed by divers, the foundation said.

"Moments like this remind us how much life can still exist in offshore Mediterranean waters and how important it is to protect it from preventable threats like abandoned fishing gear or overfishing," said Healthy Seas director Veronika Mikos.

Researchers working with the mission said the sighting could improve understanding of the distribution and behavior of the critically endangered species, though further analysis would be required before broader conclusions are drawn.