Here is the Forbes article about the new rules in Italy and we recommend to read it before you head to Italy. 🙂 Don’t say we didn’t tell you!

23 Surprising Things That Will Get You In Trouble In Italy

by Laura Begley Bloom

In the 1953 film Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck sat on Rome’s famed Spanish Steps, while Anita Ekberg took a dip in the Trevi Fountain in 1960’s La Dolce Vita. These days, those movie stars would be getting fines of anywhere from €250-€450 (about $279-$502), based on new rules that ban a range of offenses in Rome’s historic center.

It’s a new era in Italy, where destinations around the country are cracking down on so-called inappropriate behavior and imposing hefty fines. Florence has just enacted penalties up to €450 ($502) for people who snack during certain times on some of the city’s most historic streets. The city of Venice levied a charge of €950 (approximately $1,060) and threw two German tourists out of town after they made coffee on the Rialto Bridge. The crime? Picnicking in a public space. Meanwhile, a Canadian tourist was slapped with a €250 ($279) fee for sunbathing in a bikini in Venice’s Papadopoli Gardens.

And it’s not just the big cities that are cracking down. Just-married model Heidi Klum and her new husband recently went swimming in the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri—a big no-no. The newlyweds had to cough up €6,000 ($6,696). Turns out that while people can visit the grotto by boat, swimming in the beautiful blue water is forbidden. Then there was that sleepy traveler from Austria who made the mistake of stringing a hammock between two trees by the seaside in Trieste. The damage for his afternoon nap? €300 ($334).

Travelers are not happy about all the changes. “The Italians are on a behavior-punishment kick,” Jason Cochran, editor-in-chief of Frommers.com, wrote on Twitter. His comments on the new rules in Florence drew a firestorm of criticism. “You’d better [not] come to Italy in case you disagree,” wrote Twitter user @AvvPaoletto.

So whether you disagree or not, better be careful if you’re headed to Italy on vacation. Here are 23 things that will get you in trouble in the land of la dolce vita.

1. Wearing flip-flops. The hilly seaside destination of Cinque Terre has had it with flip-flop-clad tourists who need to be rescued from local hiking trails. A new law will impose fines for wearing flip-flops. The charges can go from €50 ($56) up to a whopping €2,500 ($2,827).

2. Snacking on the streets. Florence has passed an ordinance banning people from eating on certain streets in the city’s historic center between 12-3 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. Fines range from €150-€500 ($167-$558). Rome and Venice have enacted similar fines.

3. Picnicking. As those German tourists discovered, picknicking is a major mistake in Venice. It’s part of a crackdown called #EnjoyRespectVenezia, a campaign that was enacted to protect this World Heritage City from the abuses of the 20 million tourists who visit annually.

4. Sitting on the steps. Keep it moving. A new law in Rome prohibits sitting on the historic Spanish Steps, which were built in the 1700s and recently restored to the tune of $1.7 million.

5. Wheeling your suitcase around. Leave your wheeled luggage at home if you’re headed to Rome or Venice. Rolling suitcases around can get you in big trouble—especially if you’re thinking of bringing them down the Spanish Steps.

6. Building sandcastles. Sorry, kids—building sandcastles in Eraclea, a beach town near Venice, is strictly against the law.

7. Jumping into a fountain. Don’t even think about wading in a fountain in Rome—eight tourists were fined €450 ($502) each for taking a dip this summer.