A U.S. couple vacationing in Venice, Italy, were forced into hiding after realizing they had made a potentially costly mistake. Julia Latoff and her boyfriend, Mike, were on a family trip to Italy and Austria celebrating his grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary when a stopoff in the world-famous Floating City took an unexpected turn. It all started when the couple decided to go for a run together.
"Both of us are runners, and we make an effort to run in almost every city we travel to," Julia told Newsweek. "We both got into running right after college. I love that it's an individual sport with a strong community.
"As a runner, you are constantly challenging yourself to get better, and running is hard in the best way, but the community offers great support and encouragement." However, what was supposed to be an opportunity to clear their heads and refresh themselves for the day ahead turned into a decidedly more anxious experience for the vacationing couple, and all because of the absence of a T-shirt. "It was early July and very hot, so my boyfriend was running without a shirt, which is the norm in NYC in the summer where we live," Julia said. "We had also run in Florence earlier that week and saw other shirtless runners, so we didn't think anything of it!" Once they started running through the streets of Venice, however, Julia realized something was off.
She noticed people "shaking their heads" and looking "disgusted" at Mike. "The local people were very upset, and that's how we realized something was wrong," Julia said. When someone yelled at the couple, they finally decided to stop and use their phones to figure out what the issue was.
They discovered that visitors to Venice can be fined for walking around shirtless in the historic city center, as local regulations prohibit bare-chested attire and swimwear in public streets and squares. Authorities introduced the rule to promote respectful behavior around the city's cultural and religious landmarks, with offenders facing fines of up to €250 ($290) according to the Venice City Council. Julia and Mike were stunned.
"As soon as we realized what they were upset about, we hid in an alley and bought a shirt. It was an honest mistake, and we felt bad and embarrassed," she wrote. The fines for walking around bare-chested or in swimwear are one of several rules enforced by the Venice City Council to protect its historic environment, public hygiene and safety.
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