Italy is serious about preserving its historical monuments, and is imposing severe fines on misbehaving tourists threatening to ruin them, unwittingly or not. Rome has passed a new set of laws for this very purpose. While some of it is common sense (for example, don’t swim in the Trevi Fountain), there are new rules that the unsuspecting traveller may not know about. But, wait. Rome is not the first Italian city to do so: Venice and Florence have long imposed restrictions on travellers damaging the city’s monuments, no thanks to over-tourism.

Don’t want to kena fine? Read on.

Whether you’re just sitting down and posing for that Instagram at the Spanish Steps, or just need to catch your breath from climbing the famous 138 steps up to the Trinità dei Monti church, we’ve got one word for you: Don’t.

Anyone who sits on the Spanish Steps, a UNESCO world heritage site, will risk getting slapped with a 250 euro fine by the Italian police. The fine is a heftier 400 euros if you damage or dirty the 18th-century monument. The new rules were in place since June but it was only last week that police began actively cracking down on offenders at the heart of city, patrolling and even blowing whistles at tourists perched on the marble steps. And just so you know, eating on the famous Spanish Steps has been banned since 2017, after it was discovered that the marble steps were discoloured and damaged by drink stains and chewing gum respectively.

Among other rules to clamp down on tourist misdemeanors is banning people from taking a dip in the city’s storied fountains, including the Trevi Fountain. If you think it’s common sense to not dive into a public fountain, you’re wrong. In the past two months, at least seven tourists were fined 450 euros each for entering the water — some had been splashing around, others swimming, and one woman was caught just for simply dipping her toes in the water. In 2018, two Canadian travellers had to fork out 450 euros each in fines when they were caught bathing in the iconic fountain. Eating at the Trevi Fountain has also been banned since 2017.

Heidi Klum was fined a whopping 6,000 euros just last week for swimming in prohibited waters at the Blue Grotto in Capri in southern Italy. The German supermodel, 46, was on her honeymoon after tying the knot with 29-year-old Tokio Hotel guitarist Tom Kaulitz on Aug 4. The celeb transgressors took the plunge, literally, into the waters of the sea cave where visitors are allowed to visit, but swimming is strictly forbidden as “high waves can slam swimmers against the stone of the low cave mouth”, according to officials.

In July, two German backpackers who decided it’d be cool to make themselves coffee on the steps of the Rialto Bridge — one of the four oldest bridges along the Grand Canal in Venice — were issued a 950 euro fine and asked to leave the city. They were using a camping stove. Although not everyone sightsees with a portable stove in their bags, just about any unsuspecting tourist may incur the wrath of the historic city’s new tourist decorum law passed in May that prohibits actions that will affect the cleanliness and safety of the city. Stewards, working in conjunction with the police, also regularly patrol the porticos around St Mark’s Square and other monuments to chase away folks who sit on the steps.

The idea of pilfering some sand from your beautiful island vacation sounds romantic, but it now comes at a price if your Insta-worthy beach vacay happens to be in Sardinia. Tourists caught stealing sand from the beach can be fined from 500 to 3,000 euros. A Naples-born UK resident was fined over 800 euros for thieving sand from a beach near the city of Olbia, despite signs stating that it’s forbidden to do so. Apparently there’s such a proliferation of pilfering sand from Sardinian beaches, and thereby damaging the ecosystem, that a Facebook page has been set up to raise awareness of the problem.

Do not eat on these four streets in Florence at 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm: Via de' Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via della Ninna. The law was passed last September and disallows anyone from stopping to eat on sidewalks and the doorsteps of shops and residential property in the city centre. This is in attempt to reduce litter at these above-mentioned streets which attract herds of travellers because of the numerous famous eateries and gelato stands there.

Rent a car. Go on a road trip around Italy. Sounds like the dream? It is, until you’re slapped with a slew of traffic fines, most of which arrive in your letterbox in Singapore months after your Roman holiday. Many unsuspecting tourists have been issued fines for as much as 130 euros for flouting traffic laws…without even knowing.

To reduce congestion, pollution and to protect its historic streets, cities such as Florence, Pisa and Rome restrict the number of cars in certain zones, and unauthorised vehicles are not allowed in these areas. The traffic signs are usually in Italian, so most non-Italian-speaking travellers are blissfully unaware that they’re breaking the law. Pro-tip: Look out for signs that read ‘Zona traffico limitato’ (ZTL) with a red circle. Certain ZTL zones are out of bounds only at certain times of the day, so it's imperative you read the fine print. Only vehicles with permission may enter ZTL zones, which are under CCTV surveillance, so there really is no escaping the law if you flout these rules. One more thing: Don't blindly follow the GPS because these restricted zones are not marked out on the GPS.

Photos: Unsplash