This Italian village will fine tourists with bare chests or in swimwear

View of the village of Varenna on May 01, 2024 in Varenna, Italy. Varenna is a traditional village and was founded by local fishermen in AD 769. In 1126 it was destroyed by the rival commune of Como. The main sights are the Castello di Vezio and the beautiful gardens at Villa Monastero. (Photo by Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images).

An Italian fishing village on Lake Como has introduced a fine for anyone found wandering its streets bare-chested or in swimwear.

Anyone flouting the village’s new dress code will now face a penalty of up to 200 euros (US$228) under the latest measure aimed at limiting the impact of mass tourism in Italy.

Visitors to Varenna, which hugs the eastern bank of the scenic lake in northern Italy, have been warned that the only places where they are allowed to be in swimwear or go bare-chested are the village’s beaches, piers and boat docks.

Introduced last month, the new rules also aim to restrict the size of tourist groups visiting the village. Groups cannot exceed 25 people — or face a penalty — and tour leaders are forbidden from using loudspeakers or any other device to amplify their voices. Anyone flouting those rules could be fined up to 400 euros (US$456).

Groups have also been instructed not to congregate, with a long list of particular streets and “historic alleyways” being identified.

According to the village’s official website, Varenna has become “one of the most popular tourist destinations on Lake Como, thanks to its wealth of history, art, architecture and culture.”

Around an hour north of Milan, the region is extremely popular with tourists. Numerous movies, including “Casino Royale” and “Ocean’s Twelve,” have been filmed there, and it is popular with the rich and famous — George Clooney has a vacation home on the lake.

Villagers were asked about their opinions on the new rules by Italian news channel TgCom24. One unnamed resident said: “You do what you want, but when walking around, entering a shop, a restaurant, a church, or a square, you must dress decently.”

Another agreed, saying: “It’s not right to walk around half-naked in the town.”

A third told a reporter from the channel that tourism had gone from being “quality” to “quantity,” adding: “They walk in, they don’t say hello, they touch everything. They leave. They don’t say thank you.”

The ban is the latest in a slew of regulations being imposed on tourism in Italy. Last month, authorities in Sardinia banned the use of beach umbrellas on one of its most popular beaches, citing safety concerns.

Many other Italian beaches have introduced time limits to avoid overcrowding, while some cities like Venice and Rome have brought in new taxes to restrict tourism at peak times.