A small lakeside village on Lake Como in northern Italy is now fining tourists who walk through its streets shirtless or in swimwear, with penalties ranging from about $57 to $228.
Varenna, which sits on Lake Como in northern Italy's northern region and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, recently updated its urban police regulations. The town's tourism website states: "Throughout the entire municipal territory of Varenna, it is prohibited to remain shirtless or wearing only swimwear, except on beaches, piers and boat docks."
Italy's national statistics agency puts Varenna's population at 646 residents across about 4.85 square miles. Officials said the new rules target the effects of overtourism on that small community.
According to Fox News, Varenna Mayor Mauro Manzoni told The Guardian: "Varenna is a wonderful village, and we are proud to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year."
"However, our residents' quality of life cannot be sacrificed on the altar of mass tourism," Manzoni added.
Reaction to the new rules on a Reddit forum was largely supportive. "Their town, their law," one user wrote. Another said, "I wish more places would do this." One commenter added that the penalties were more surprising than the rule itself. "I've seen a few small towns around Europe that have signs about no swimwear when you're off the beach and walking around town," the user wrote. "I haven't seen fines for it, though."
The move follows similar action in France. In 2025, the seaside resort of Les Sables-d'Olonne told locals and tourists that walking around town topless or in swimwear was prohibited. The mayor there wrote at the time: "It's a question of respect for locals who don't want people wandering around their town half-naked."
