To avoid breaking any further rules, Mike and his companion ducked into an alley and began figuring out what to do. They were about two miles from where they were staying, and Mike had no intention of continuing his run shirtless.

“I knew I wasn’t going to continue running, and I didn’t want to go back without a shirt because I wanted to be respectful,” he said.

Naccarella’s sister and her fiancé were also running with the couple. The man volunteered to buy Mike a T-shirt so he could cover his bare torso.

In the end, Mike put on a white T-shirt featuring an image inspired by Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam and dedicated to Aperol Spritz, allowing him to finish his run. At the end of the video, which has since gone viral, the couple apologized to local residents:

“Sorry, Venetians, we didn’t know!”

Venice has prohibited swimwear and bare chests in public spaces since 2018. The city council says such restrictions are intended to “preserve urban cleanliness and the landscape,” as well as to address safety and public hygiene concerns.

The couple’s post quickly sparked a heated reaction online. Some users criticized the Americans.

“Tell me you’re American without telling me you’re American,” one commenter wrote.

“Venice is not a beach and it’s not a tourist playground,” another said.

A third accused the couple of behaving as though Americans did not have to follow the laws of other countries.

Others, however, took a more lighthearted approach.

“If you’re going to accidentally break an extremely niche and obscure Italian law, at least you looked incredibly good doing it,” one user joked.

The couple themselves admitted that they were surprised by the scale of the backlash.

“I’m surprised at how angry people are, especially considering that we immediately corrected the situation and were trying to be respectful,” Latoff said.

Mike also received plenty of compliments about his physique.

What Else Can Tourists Be Fined for in Venice?

The ban on bare chests is just one of the many rules enforced in the city.

Tourists are prohibited from eating and drinking while sitting directly on the ground, as well as from lying down or loitering on canal banks, around monuments, on bridges, steps and designated high-water walkways.

Violations can result in fines ranging from €100 to €200.

Jumping into canals, swimming in them and littering are also prohibited. These offenses can carry fines of up to €350.

There is also a specific rule against feeding pigeons and seagulls. The so-called “crime of crumbs” can result in a fine ranging from €25 to €500.

Another surprising restriction concerns bicycles. In Venice, even walking a bicycle by hand is prohibited. The only exception is the route from Piazzale Roma to Venice Santa Lucia railway station, where visitors are allowed to walk their bikes.