Originally Posted by
abaheti
As an American, it is always difficult to parse and in tourist areas it seems like they now expect American tips, so good to know as we want to do what is appropriate and not insult servers.
The appropriate tip in Italy is zero, unless the service is truly and mind-blowingly exceptional. I'd say that five euros is normally five euros too much by local standards, even in upscale establishments. Also, anyone who "expects a tip" based of your nationality deserves zero tip and you should have zero sympathy with them.