Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
It "is recommended" that you drink bottled water in restaurants because they want to sell the water to you rather than provide it for free. The server also wants the service charge or tip from the sale of the water.
Could the little hotel have formerly gotten their water from a cistern or well?
Service charges, or tips, in Italy, don't go to the waiter or waitress. They go to the restaurant owner, unless you find a way of getting it into your server's hand. Otherwise, you are just giving extra money to the owner, who has already charged you full price with service charge built in. It's a different culture. with different norms. You can't come from MN and expect that things work the same way in Italy.