A harmless, everyday routine in one country can easily become a punishable offense in another, landing tourists in serious hot water.
A New York couple learned that the hard way when they narrowly avoided a hefty fine during a trip to Italy.
Dietitian Julia Latoff and runner Mike Naccarella broke a local law while running and were forced into hiding as a family member helped them sort it out.
Highlights
- A New York couple accidentally broke a local law while visiting Venice, Italy, and nearly got hit with a $290 fine.
- The two had to hide after locals gave them “disgusted and angry” looks.
- Netizens dragged them online for being “disrespectful” towards the country they were visiting.
The pair’s actions sparked significant backlash online, with many blasting the two for not following the laws of the country they were visiting.
“Tell me you are American without telling me you are American,” one user said.
A New York couple got yelled at by locals after running shirtless in Italy
On July 8, 2026, Julia shared a video on her Instagram, informing her 8,500-plus followers how she and her boyfriend, Mike, nearly got fined on their family vacation.
The two were in Venice, Italy, celebrating Mike’s grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary, when a running session quickly turned south.
As fitness enthusiasts and active runners who started running right after college, they decided to go for an early morning run to get ready for the day ahead.
Julia stepped out in black shorts and a white tank top, while Mike wore black shorts and went shirtless. Halfway through their run, things got awkward as the locals gave them disapproving glances.
“We noticed people were shaking their heads at us, looking disgusted and angry,” she said in the video. “Someone yelled at Mike.”
“We stopped and looked it up, and found out that it is actually illegal to run here without a shirt.”
The Venetian city council’s website clearly states that walking around “bare-chested or in a swimsuit” in public places is strictly forbidden since 2018, and offenders would be fined €250 ($290).
Julia admitted they felt “embarrassed” about the mistake and apologized
After learning about the law, the couple immediately sought to correct the situation.
“We’re hiding in a back alley, while his sister tries to find a shirt, so that we can make it home without getting a ticket,” she said, as Mike sat on his haunches against a wall.
The clip then cuts to a woman, presumably Mike’s sister, handing him a white Aperol Spritz T-shirt, which he then wore.
“Sorry, Venetian people, we didn’t know,” Julia concluded in the video.
In an August interview with Newsweek, she explained why Mike had decided to go shirtless in the first place.
“Both of us are runners, and we make an effort to run in almost every city we travel to,” she said.
“It was early July and very hot, so my boyfriend was running without a shirt, which is the norm in NYC in the summer where we live,” she continued. “We had also run in Florence (another Italian city) earlier that week and saw other shirtless runners, so we didn't think anything of it!”
Julia called it an “honest mistake,” and said that they felt “bad and embarrassed.”
Netizens blasted the two for being “disrespectful” towards Venetians
Despite the couple’s apology, they got trolled online for their “uncivilized” behavior.
“Why are Americans so obsessed with being shirtless in public? I am so embarrassed,” one said. Another wrote, “And then Americans wonder why everybody hates them.”
“Literally who doesn’t know it’s inappropriate to run in a town or city shirtless?” said a third.
A fourth said, “Who goes jogging in the historical narrow streets of Venice? That in and of itself is disrespectful.”
However, many thought the rule was “pointless,” while others defended Julia and Mike, saying they made an unintentional mistake.
“Dumbest law in existence,” one said. Another commented, “Wait, don’t they have full n**e beaches over there, but you can’t run shirtless?”
“At least they admitted their mistake and corrected it,” said a third.
“As an actual Italian, you guys need to get a grip. They realized it was wrong and then stopped doing it. What more would you expect?” a fourth said, addressing the critics.
Europe has reportedly raised fines for shirtless visitors in recent months
Beyond being bare-chested, tourists can also be fined in Venice for several other violations.
Consuming food or drink on the ground, or sitting or lying at river banks, monuments, bridges, steps, puteals, and high-water walkways, comes with a fine of €100 to €200 ($116 to $233) and a ban from the location where the offense was committed.
Bathing or swimming in Venice’s famous canals or public littering can get one fined €300 ($350), while camping in public areas carries a €200 ($233) fine.
Other European countries, such as Spain and Portugal, have also introduced local rules in recent years that penalize visitors for walking through public streets and squares with their upper body bared.
Several of France’s tourist towns, including Les Sables d’Olonne and Arcachon, also have a fine of about €130 to €150 ($150 to $175)for walking uncovered or in a swimsuit in public.
In June 2026, The Times reported that a handful of resort towns, such as Narbonne in the Languedoc and the Beaux-Arts Deauville in Normandy, had increased fines from €17 ($20) to 150 ($175) for wandering shirtless.
In Asian locations, being shirtless is widely considered culturally disrespectful, especially at religious sites, with specific legal bans or fines applying in certain locations and contexts.
Thailand, where it is already illegal to drive a vehicle shirtless, is reportedly planning to levy a fine of about 300-500 Baht ($9-$15) for shirtless tourists in central areas.
"At least they admitted their mistake." Netizens debated over the New Yorker couple breaking local law by running shirtless in Italy
