contract, it becomes necessary to conduct a case-by-case factual assessment, in order to determine which legal regime is most appropriately applicable to the food service contract37. It is not uncommon in practice for the restaurant contract to be preceded by a reservation agreement, which constitutes an atypical preparatory contract, leading to the subsequent definitive agreement. This preliminary agreement is essentially gratuitous in nature. The absence of consideration gives rise to obligations solely on the part of the restaurateur, who undertakes to keep a table available for the clients who have made a reservation. The clients, by contrast, are only required to inform the restaurateur as soon as they decide, or become unable, to honor the reservation. The gratuitous nature of the agreement is considered essential for its legal classification, as affirmed by authoritative scholarship. Indeed, the increasingly common practice of requiring a deposit or advance payment as a guarantee alters the very nature of the agreement, which can no longer be regarded as a true reservation38. Although the legislator has not codified the restaurant contract as a specific contractual type, an explicit reference to such activity is found in Article 1786 of the Italian Civil Code, within the rules governing hotel deposit contracts39. In that provision, the legislator enumerates certain entrepreneurial activities to which the relevant rules apply, and alongside bathing establishments, boarding houses, and sleeping cars, it includes inns and trattorie. Like the hotel contract, which is itself an atypical contract governed by the rules of procurement, the restaurant contract is a consensual, bilateral agreement involving reciprocal obligations. However, the two differ in terms of the predominant service offered. The hotelier provides lodging in furnished premises and offers accessory services, including meals, in exchange for payment. The restaurateur, conversely, offers meals and related services in equipped premises and may, incidentally, offer accommodation. For instance, the Region of Lombardy has regulated so-called locande through Regional Law No. 27 of 2015, Article 28, defining them as 37 See Cass., 2 agosto 2002, n. 11602, in Rep. Foro it., Bologna- Roma, voce Appalto, n. 12. 38 The Author is V. Francheschelli, La prenotazione, in Tourism Law, Turin, 2019, p. 256 et seq. 39 Art. 1786 c,c Establishments and premises similar to hotels. The provisions of this section also apply to entrepreneurs of nursing homes, public entertainment establishments, bathing establishments, boarding houses, trattorias, sleeping carriages and the like. 45 ITALY, FOOD, CONTRACTS
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