An American couple’s morning run through Venice, Italy, took an unexpected turn — and went viral — when they discovered that jogging shirtless could result in a fine.
In a video posted to Instagram last month, the woman documented the aftermath of a morning run through Venice with her boyfriend, who was not wearing a shirt.
She said the two decided to go for a jog through the city’s iconic streets when they noticed locals reacting negatively to them.
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“We didn’t know that it’s illegal to run shirtless through Venice,” the woman said. “We noticed people were like, shaking their heads at us, looking disgusted and angry.”
She added, “Someone yelled at Mike…. We stopped and looked it up and found out that it is actually illegal to run without a shirt.”
“Sorry, Venetian people, we didn’t know,” the tourist added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Instagram user for comment.
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The video, which was “liked” by nearly half a million Instagram users, drew criticism from some viewers.
“Everyone should be wearing a shirt,” one person said.
“Clothes in public? Who would have thought,” another chimed in.
Other viewers were surprised by the rule.
“Weird because of all the nude beaches and naked art that they have,” an American user wrote.
“Are people expecting you to Google ‘jogging laws Italy’? You don’t know what you don’t know,” another viewer said.
Venice is one of many European vacation spots that have a number of lesser-known rules that could catch American tourists off guard, said Eric Bowman, editor-in-chief of Travel Pulse.
The Georgia-based expert said popular destinations have increasingly introduced restrictions as they contend with growing numbers of visitors.
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“We’ve seen a lot of different bans come up for what travelers can and can’t do — a lot of new fees that have come up for how much they’re gonna have to pay to be there,” Bowman said.
He said the rules are largely intended to maintain order and discourage bad behavior as residents deal with an influx of tourists.
Bowman said some of the most common sources of friction between locals and tourists include “drunken debauchery,” general rudeness and travelers failing to understand local customs.
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Clothing can also get visitors into trouble, he said, pointing to restrictions on wearing bathing suits away from beaches in some destinations.
Bowman advised travelers in Italy to use their swimwear at the beach and to cover up before walking around town.
“It’s not California, unfortunately,” the expert said.
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Other niche rules include restrictions on wearing high heels at ancient ruins in Greece and camouflage clothing in some Caribbean nations, Bowman said.
He added that his biggest tip is to book with a travel advisor who can alert travelers to local rules and restrictions before their trip.
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The expert noted that working with travel advisors isn’t always as expensive as it sounds — especially if it prevents people from paying a fine.
“Some of them charge fees, some of them don’t,” said Bowman. “You can pretty much start in your local community if you don’t have one.”
