ROME (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authorities are going into combat over Rome's Colosseum, opening an investigation into ticketing operations that have seen tourists paying inflated prices to visit the ancient Roman arena where gladiators once fought.
Italy's most popular tourist venue, the Colosseum attracts millions of visitor each year.
But tourists complain it is often impossible to find regular tickets as big tour companies scoop them up on the official website weeks in advance and then repackage them as much more expensive guided tours.
The antitrust authority said tickets were being bought "en masse through the use of automated purchasing systems". It was investigating the official retailer, CoopCulture, as well as four tour companies.
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"CoopCulture seems not to have put in place appropriate systems to avoid the hoarding of tickets...thus depriving consumers of the possibility to buy tickets at the ordinary price," the authority said.
A ticket normally costs 18 euros ($20) but the official website on Tuesday showed there were just three places left until Aug. 7. By constrast, websites of local guide companies were offering numerous tours ranging from 37.50-74.00 euros.
There was no immediate comment from CoopCulture or the guide companies.
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Carlo Rienzi, the head of consumers rights body Codacons, said "secondary ticketing" was costing Italy millions of euros.
"We ask the government to introduce new provisions capable not only of blocking secondary ticketing, but also of imposing very heavy penalties on those sites," Rienzi said in a statement.
Built 2,000 years ago, the Colosseum was the biggest amphitheatre in the Roman empire and was used to host gladiator fights, executions and animal hunts.
It has recently grabbed media attention as visitors have been caught scribbling graffiti on its walls. ($1 = 0.8890 euros)
(Reporting by Federica Urso, Elvira Pollina; editing by Crispian Balmer and Angus MacSwan)