Public eating and drinking in cities

If you go to a proper park, there should not be a problem. What cities will you be in?

It is frowned upon to eat on steps of churches or other buildings. Venice has had a problem with people picnicking on the steps of bridges which is a no no as well.

The question is a fascinating one as it shows the different mental approaches. The tourist may see a problem in alcohol drinking; the local sees the problem in the misuse of monumental spaces. - A few months ago a Florence city rule was issued regarding a couple of roads where tourists were eating sitting in door spaces, even refusing to stand up when people had to pass. The problem, obviously, was not in drinking alcohol but in making life difficult to locals.

lachera: As an Italian, you probably know the rules about drinking/eating:

1) In parks: OK?
2) Other places?

I certainly want to be a reasonable and sensible tourist.

Two of the largest campos in Venice (Dorsoduro side) have a few trees and some benches. And there's a nice park tucked away in Venice's "fish tail." In Florence, there's the "beach" on the Arno, below the Uffizi.

The rules are very different from city to city. In Bologna for example there are parks and areas where you can sit without problems, but others where you cannot even sit on the street with a glass of wine in your hand.
My suggestion is to ask to your hotel about local rules, or if you tell us where you want to go we can try to give you specific rules to be followed.

The rules are set by the cities, so no "Italian" can give you a definite answer.

Typically You can eat, drink & walk, you can have a picnic only in parks. Nobody cares if you drink alcohol outside unless you are drunk or there is a specific ban in that district. The Bartender will tell you if you can drink in the streets outside. It's not a matter of decency, it's about the life quality of those who own an house in the same street.

Nobody was fined 1,000 for a picnic in Venice, they were fined for camping out on a 250 years old bridge, setting up a campfire 10 feet away from someone's front doors. Imagine thousands of tourist having a picnic in front of your door any given day, imagine being forced to clean before rats and seagulls arrive... the things that can't be allowed to everyone are prohibited for all.

Also, some German tourists were very recently fined €4,200 for using a 300-year old wellhead as their personal picnic spot.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/venice-tourists-fined-4-200-for-picnic-on-300-year-old-wellhead-9rn0qtdfj

Italians are rightfully touchy about dropped/spilled crumbs, gelato, pasta sauce, red wine, etc. all over their really, really old and/or important landmarks. In addition to the stains that can result, food leavings draw pigeons that REALLY make a mess; their droppings are corrosive and do a lot of damage, often permanent, to stone, paint, concrete, metal and other sorts of materials. That's why it's illegal to feed them in Venice and so draw more of the pests they want to get RID of!

But follow the good suggestions above and you'll be OK. :O)