Conversely, liability is unlimited whenever the deterioration, loss, or destruction concerns: items handed over to the hotelier or their staff; is due to the hotelier’s fault; or involves items that the hotelier has refused to accept for safekeeping, pursuant to Article 1784 c.c. The extension of the rules governing hotel deposits to restaurant activities is provided for by Article 1786 of the Italian Civil Code, but applies only in cases of professional activity45. The underlying criterion is the customer’s need to set aside certain personal belongings in order to consume the meal, such as a coat, umbrella, or hat, but not items that the customer is able to keep under direct supervision46. The quantitative limit of liability corresponds to 100 times the cost of the meal consumed47. As in the case of hotel deposits, the restaurateur’s liability is excluded if it is proven that the damage resulted from the client’s own actions, force majeure, or the inherent nature of the item, pursuant to Article 1785 c.c. Alongside traditional restaurant activities, based on the preparation and consumption of meals on the restaurateur’s premises, two additional forms of meal consumption have increasingly emerged: takeaway services and home food delivery48. 45 Cass. Civ. III, 4 ottobre 1991, n. 10393, in Giur. it., 1992, with comment by G. Chinè, on the restaurateur’s liability: G. Chinè, Furto di indumenti e responsabilità del ristoratore, in Giur. It. 1992, I, 1, 1326. The jurisprudence, from an analysis of the rule, has come to the conclusion that in order to assimilate an activity to a hotel business, and therefore apply the legislation on liability, it is necessary that some essential criteria exist, which can be found in: professional and speculative nature of the activity carried out, nature of an establishment open to the public, the nature of the services offered to the public such as to imply, due to the normality of their performance, the liberation of the user from any concern for the custody of his/her belongings and the entrustment to the organiser of the establishment. Pret. Pietrasanta, 14 March 1960, in Giur. tosc., 1961, pag. 244. The same orientation: Cass. 9 November 1987, n. 8268, Nuova giur. comm., 1988, pag. 548, with comment by D. Giacobbe, La responsabilità dell’albergatore: profili generali; App. Roma, 28 January 1981, in Foro it., 1982, p. 828:” The rules regarding the liability of hoteliers for items given to staff by customers also apply to a hairdressing salon”. In doctrine see: D. Mantucci, Responsabilità dell’albergatore, in Digesto delle discipline privatistiche, sez. civ. XVII, Torino, 2004, p. 236. 46 The Court of Cassation held the restaurateur liable for the disappearance of a customer’s fur coat, which had been delivered to a waiter in the restaurant: See Cass. civ., 20 August 1985, no. 4445; and the restaurateur was equally liable without limitation for the theft of a fur coat, which had not been delivered but was hanging on a coat rack at the entrance to the premises, therefore in a risky position, and was therefore guilty. 47 Of different opinion: Santagata, op. cit., p. 303. 48 21% of Italians use food delivery services on a monthly basis, especially young people aged 18-34 (29%) with a preference for the weekend, when these services are used by almost half of Italians, especially in Southern Italy (56% vs 48% of the total population). Source: Cibo a domicilio in Italia tutti I dati.YouGov. The home delivery of food and ready meals moves a market that is currently worth 1.8 billion euros and this type of service now reaches 71% of the Italian population. Source: The European House-Ambrosetti, 2023. The study on the occasion of the 7th forum “The Roadmap of the Future for Food & Beverage” in Bormio underlined the fundamental role of food delivery platforms which in the year before have represented 97% of the total value of dishes sold. Only 3% comes from the online channels of traditional restaurants. 47 ITALY, FOOD, CONTRACTS
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