Italian ice cream firm which charged British tourists £54 for four cones takes out newspaper advert to justify the cost Antica Roma parlour in Rome was criticised for charging family huge sum Cost reignited debate over high prices faced by tourists in Italy Parlour takes out full page newspaper advert titled 'the price is right' An ice cream parlour in Rome which charged British tourists £54 for four cones has taken out a newspaper advert justifying its high prices. The Antica Roma gelataria charged brothers Roger and Stephen Bannister and their wives the sum when they stopped at the outlet near the city's famous Spanish Steps. Anger: Roger Bannister (left), his brother Steven and their wives Wendy and Joyce with the £54 receipt for the ice cream they bought in Rome. The ice cream parlour has taken out an advert justifying its high prices The family complained about the cost to a national newspaper - reigniting a debate over high prices faced by tourists in parts of Italy. But the firm has responded by taking out a full page advert titled 'the price is right,' in which it justifies the cost of its products. Managers at the company said the outlet offers cones for about £2, but that the British tourists, from Stourbridge, West Midlands, had chosen ice creams with 'a big wafer and special ingredients,' the Telegraph reports. High cost: The family were horrified by the high price after buying ice creams at the Antica Roma bar (left of picture) in Rome It is one of the few products that has not been hit by recession - with sales up by more than five per cent in the past year. The most expensive ice creams in Italy used to be those served at the Gran Caffe Lavena in Venice where two scoops cost nearly £12, according to Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. Expense: The cost of the ice creams has reignited debate over the high prices faced by tourists in Italy But this now appears to have been overtaken by the £13.50 ice creams on sale at the Antica Roma ice cream parlour. The firm claims the high quality of its ice cream has helped it survive the country's economic crisis and that its business has continued to grow. The Bannisters were offered a free trip back to Rome by the city's mayor Gianni Alemanno after their story made headlines across the world. Roger Bannister earlier described how the group had been on a six-day trip to Rome, adding: 'Up until then we'd had a brilliant time, but that left a bad taste in the mouth - quite literally. 'To be honest the ice cream wasn't that nice either.