Rome dress code catches out Australian tourist

The woman said she was not allowed into several Italian attractions due to the dress she was wearing. Photo / @jackihodge

An Australian woman has warned fellow tourists to plan their outfits carefully after she was prevented from visiting several major attractions in Rome.

In a video shared to TikTok, 26-year-old Jacki Hodge shared a picture of a dress she had worn while recently exploring the ancient city.

During the 46-second clip, she said girls who also loved to wear dresses in Europe “should listen up” as she explained how this item of clothing got her into trouble.

Hodge said her dress, which was taken during a day of sightseeing in Rome, looked “great in photos” but was not modest enough. As a result, she was not allowed into the Pantheon, the Vatican, or the Museum of the Dead.

Hodge admitted she did not know some attractions in Italy had clothing requirements and wanted to share the information she’d learnt first-hand.

“You can’t have your shoulders out, you can’t have your boobs out, and you definitely can’t have cutouts. Also, my dress was backless,” she said.

“Annoyingly, I didn’t bring a scarf or a jacket or anything to cover myself up and you would’ve been fine if you do want to pack something like that.”

@jetsetting_jacki

Hot tip: don’t dress like a hoe in Europe 😂 at least not in the daytime when you want to go to churches and monuments You also get funny looks sometimes in crop tops and short shorts etc. so just beware and dress appropriately #europesummer #traveltipsandhacks #europetravel #cheaptravel #solotravel

♬ original sound - Jetsetting Jacki

In particular, Hodge said, visitors were required to cover their knees in order to enter the Museum of the Dead, so travellers should pack clothes that meet these requirements.

Fortunately, Hodge said, she was able to visit many monuments around the city and was not upset she had to wait outside while her friends explored the iconic buildings.

The video has been viewed almost 2 million times and amassed thousands of comments. Some viewers said they would have been caught out by the requirement to cover up.

“I would never have thought of this, thank you!” wrote one person.

Others, however, were “shocked” Hodge and other travellers weren’t aware of these rules, especially when it came to religious sites or ancient buildings.

One said it was “pretty common” with religious buildings and another shared a seemingly obvious tip: “Basically if you want to enter a church, dress as if you are going to a church”.

Another person said their ignorance seemed almost intentional.

“I feel like people refuse to do research before going places. I’ve been to Rome, and the first thing I read was about dresses that were appropriate for churches,” they wrote.

In Hodge’s defence, many parts of Italy have cracked down on dress codes and other rules that target disruptive tourist behaviour.

In the coastal beach town of Sorrento, the mayor was reported as saying wearing togs in public, or men walking around topless was “widespread indecorous behaviour”.