ROME -- For many, the idea of spending a week on Apulia’s warm coastlines, soaking up the sun and enjoying la dolce vita, sounds like a dream holiday. But dozens of tourists have been conned into renting properties that do not match the images online as Italy’s financial police crack down on overcrowding and tax evasion.

  Financial police in Gallipoli have revealed that fines amounting to 25,000 euros have been issued as holiday home owners rent their properties to more people than is legally permitted. 31 properties were investigated last week, Italy’s financial police have revealed.

  In the towns of Baia Verde and Lido San Giovanni, the limit of holidaymakers imposed by the tourism sector had been surpassed by 73 last week, with cases where tourists had been conned into renting tiny spaces for eye-watering prices. Some landlords have been demanding up to 3,000 euros in rental costs for the week, it has been revealed.

  In two cases, separate groups of German tourists had been deceived into renting out garage spaces for the Ferragosto holiday period, with one group paying up to 1,400 euros for the week. The tourists contacted Gallipoli’s financial police, who have subsequently placed the properties under investigation.

  It comes as Italy’s financial police continue to grapple with tax evasion in the holiday sector, with rental incomings often not declared by owners of the properties. Last year, 300,000 euros were not declared in taxes.

 bq