Several years ago a bulky package arrived out of the blue at a wine bar near Piazza Navona in Rome's historic centre. When the owners of Il Piccolo opened the weighty parcel they were surprised to find a bubble-wrapped sampietrino – a Roman cobblestone – that had been sent all the way from the UK.

Accompanying the unusual contents was an anonymous letter from a British tourist overcome with remorse for the theft. The note stated that the visitor had taken the cobblestone "as a souvenir" while on holiday in Rome the year before, requesting the owners of Il Piccolo to return it to "the street between Piazza del Popolo and Pincio."