An American tourist jogging shirtless through Venice narrowly avoided a fine after locals pointed out the city bans toplessness in public, the New York Post reported.
Julia Latoff, a traveler from New York, and her boyfriend Mike Nacarella were on vacation in Italy when they went for an early morning run. Nacarella took off his shirt because of the heat and soon noticed locals staring at him oddly.
One resident told him "this is not a beach," the couple said.
Nacarella later found out online that Venice imposes a fine of 250 euros, about 24,000 rubles, for walking around the city in swimwear or without a shirt. He asked relatives traveling with the pair to buy him a T-shirt, which he put on to finish the run.
Video goes viral online
"Sorry, Venetians, we didn't know about your rules!" the couple said at the end of the video, which went viral on social media.
Venice, built across a lagoon in northeastern Italy and known for its canals and gondolas, draws millions of tourists each year and has increasingly cracked down on visitor behavior it deems disrespectful, including rules on beachwear away from actual beaches.
Viewers reacted to the clip with mixed opinions. Some criticized the couple's behavior, with one commenter writing, "Tell me you're American without opening your mouth," while another said, "Venice is not a beach," and a third accused Americans of routinely disregarding foreign countries' laws.
Mixed reaction online
Other users defended the tourists and praised them for correcting their mistake. "Honestly, it's not the most well known law, so it's understandable you didn't know," one wrote. Another said everyone makes mistakes and that at least the couple fixed theirs, while a third told Nacarella he "looked great" regardless.
In June, Kanye West's wife was criticized online for not wearing underwear at his concert in Georgia.
