26 Oct 2010

New dress code intended for seaside city in Italy

3:13 pm on 26 October 2010

A seaside city in Italy plans to ban miniskirts and other revealing clothing to improve what the mayor calls standards of public decency.

Castellammare di Stabia is trying to be the latest location in Italy to make use of new powers to crack down on what is deemed to be anti-social behaviour.

Mayor Luigi Bobbio said the regulations would help restore urban decorum and facilitate better civil co-existence.

The BBC reports he wants to enforce a policy of nothing too revealing.

That means a tough new dress code which would effectively outlaw everything from miniskirts to low-cut jeans.

Offenders would face fines of between 25 and 500 euros.

There will also be a ban on sunbathing, playing football in public places, and blasphemy, if the proposals are approved at a council meeting on Monday.

Castellammare di Stabia is latest city to make use of extra powers handed down by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government to mayors, in the effort to fight crime and confront anti social behaviour.

The BBC reports bans in other places include sandcastles, kissing in cars, feeding stray cats, wooden clogs and the use of lawn mowers at weekends.