Italy’s famous “la dolce vita” is getting a dress code.
The picturesque fishing village of Varenna, near Lake Como, is cracking down on tourists who wander its streets shirtless or in swimwear. Beach attire is now limited to the lakeside beach and boats, with anyone ignoring the rules facing fines.
“Our residents’ quality of life cannot be sacrificed on the altar of mass tourism,” Varenna’s Mayor Mauro Manzoni told The Guardian.
The fine is set between $50 ($57) and may go up to €200 ($228) as part of measures taken by local authorities to maintain the peace for its roughly 650 year-round residents, even as more tourists flock to the region.
But the topless fine is not the only measure taken by authorities in the town. Group tours will also face new regulations, including limiting the group size to fewer than 25 members, requiring groups not to crowd the cobbled streets, and banning loudspeakers popular among group tours.
And while the rules are meant to mitigate the impact of tourism on local life, they also apply to locals—and locals are already embracing them.
But Varenna is not the only Italian destination that has turned to regulations to help ease the burden of tourism on locals. Portofino, Gallipoli, Sorrento, and the Cinque Terre have all imposed varying bans on walking around topless or shoeless in non beach areas around town.
In Portofino, shirtless individuals may be fined up to €300 ($342), while visitors wearing beachwear in the Old Town area of Gallipoli may face up to €500 ($570) in fines. In the Cinque Terre region, visitors may wear anything—including beachwear—during hikes, but must change when returning to the villages.
