Tourism conservation or lining the coffers?

I am writing this in a real fit of anger and frustration.

After more than half a year since our return from France and Italy, I am slapped with a 2 times 36 euros handling fee on our credit card from the car rental company.

Apparently we had unwittingly flouted the limited zone traffic regulation at least twice (for now) during our visit to the renaissance city of Florence. Not only had we wasted time making detours after detours in the complicated network of roads in the city, we had also crossed into the limited zones without a permit, thus warranting fines which could amount up to 115 euros per offence!!
 
From a tourism conservation point of view, these rules had been set in place to provide safe pedestrian roads and for the conservation of the historical buildings by limiting vehicular pollutants.

However I cannot help but feel that the system is being abused to simply line the coffers of the municipials and the car rental companies. 

First, car rental companies should inform leasees by word or way of a brochure of the limited zone rules and a map showing the applicable areas.

Second, warning signs should be placed in advance of the zone so that bumbling tourists have time to move out of the area instead of following traffic and trudging headlong into these zones and not being able to make a detour.

Third, a concession should be in place to limit the number of such fines per day on the same vehicle. Obviously if someone commits the same offence repeatedly, he/she is unaware of the regulations. These fines can easily escalate by simply getting lost in the city.

So for now, I can only pray that Italian bureaucracy will overlook the offence. The price to pay for ignorance is really high.