modest dress code

The modest dress code is for churches and you will be turned away if you don't dress appropriately. For St. Peter's basilica for women a longer skirt, pants or capris are okay. Tops must have shoulders and upper arms covered, no cap sleeves or tanks. For men, they must wear pants or face the very real possibility of not being allowed entry. Also a shirt with sleeves. The clothing must not have anything that can be considered rude or offensive. This is for both men and women and children. Your 16 year old will be considered an adult and will be turned away if in shorts, even longer board shorts. Other churches around the city are not as strict as St. Peter's but you must still have shoulders and knees covered. I know of several people denied entry into St. Peter's because they were in longer shorts or cap sleeved tops. My daughter (10 at the time) forgot to put on her jacket to cover her tank top when we enter Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The attendant came over to remind her to put it on. Donna

This topic is discussed frequently here. If you have a look at other posters' questions and the answers they have received you can sometimes get a quicker answer than waiting for all of us to chime in. Yesterday the question was discussed here: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/68432/first-trip-to-italyhelp.html

It is a matter of respect. You not going to Disneyworld so your dress and BEHAVIOR should be respectful. Often the church will holding services, practices, etc. and locals will be use the church for their own purposes. If the situation was reversed in your church how would you want the Italians to behave?

In my experience, women are definitely singled out more. However, you should be respectful and knowledgeable of the rules. Make sure your dresses or shorts are below your knees, and always have a scarf or cardigan in your purse to throw over your shoulders if you will be wearing a top that doesn't cover your shoulders. It's not too difficult :)

Just finished 16 days in Italy and here's what I saw - Extremely uneven enforcement of the modesty rules, even at St. Peter's in Rome. There was a young guy (American, I think) wandering around in shorts above the knee and I just knew he would get nabbed. Nope. Guards walked right passed him and didn't give him a second glance Then there was an Italian woman who was kept out of the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua (actually Vatican soil, like an embassy), because she was wearing a spaghetti strap type dress that did go below her knees but her shoulders were exposed. She was arguing loudly with the guard, saying that she knew that there were at least 25 other women inside whose shoulders were bare like hers. The guard never gave in, just saying over and over "That's not true." She walked away cursing. It did seem to me that women are singled out for enforcement more than men on dress code issues.

One of my favorite memories is of a guided tour of the Vatican. Our guide was very knowledgeable and funny - but certainly took no notice of the dress code!! Her T- shirt was skin tight, short, with a hint of cap sleeves. Her skirt was also tight and short. She could either hide her tummy and show her knees, or vice-versa. All the guards at the museum knew her by name, and she was well-versed in the art of flirting. We remember her by the name/logo on the back of her shirt: Miss Heineken!

It's a matter of respect, there are often masses going on in either side chapels or even in main areas especially in the larger churches. We recently moved to Austin from Reno and it is not uncommon to see people wear shorts to church in either of those cities and women often wear sleeveless and above knee skirts, however, when in Rome... There are signs in many churches indicating no knees shoulders or mid-sections should be uncovered. Enforcement may be spotty but do you really want to risk it? We take the pants that allow us to zip off the legs and become shorts when we travel. For one thing, they are thinner material and take up very little space in packing, secondly they dry quickly if they need a quick hand wash during the trip, most importantly to us, they let us cool of on warmer days but still be ready to enter any church in just moments. On our last trip when we were in Portofino and Santa Margarita Ligure, I was wearing shorts and I hadn't thought about going in to churches that day, I just sent hubby in to be eyes and take a look for the two churches that caught our attention. There was nobody at one of the churches so it probably would have been fine to go in, it just didn't seem appropriate to me to enter even though I probably could have easily.

My husband and I just returned from Italy last week and I noticed as well that the dress code was not being enforced at the Vatican or St. Peter's. I was very surprised to see several women in shorts or very short skirts. Of course I agree that whether the dress code is enforced or not it is a matter of respect and shoulders and knees should be covered.

I wonder if they're going easy on the dress code at St. Peter's because of the recent beatification of JP2. It vastly increased the number of visitors to the Vatican, and maybe a lot of those visitors were not aware of the dress code. Just a theory, but St. Peter's used to have the strictest enforcement in Christendom. :-)

Just got back from Italy on Saturday. I wore shorts into almost every church (except St. Peters) and a polo shirt. My wife wore capris or a dress into all of the churches and only had to cover her shoulders. She forgot while inside a few churches and was reminded by a nun or guard. In St. Francis's Basilica, they actually provided a yard of material for her to drape over her shoulders. I saw shorts EVERYWHERE, but no bare shoulders.