THE MAYOR OF A BEACH resort town in south-western Italy has declared war on short skirts.

Luigi Bobbio, the mayor of  Castellammare di Stabia, has ordered local police to fine women who wear short miniskirts or show too much cleavage, the Guardian reports.

The €300 fines are part of efforts, Bobbio says, to raise the level of public decorum. He is introducing 41 measures in all, including bans on swearing in public, lying on benches and kicking a football in the street.

Introducing the measures, he said: “This is not Majorca”.

The miniskirts under threat are those that fail to cover underwear, but Bobbio said police won’t have to carry out inspections “up close”. ”One glance will be enough to judge,” he said.

One local who participated in a sit-in outside the town hall as the council approved the fines, said: “This town does need decorum, but not the decorum that is measured by a tape measure held against women’s clothing.”

AFP reports that the new legislation prompted opposition party members to hold a “mini-skirt day” protest rally.

Meanwhile, Time magazine points out one benefit of the ban: “Who needs SPF 50 when you’re wearing trousers?”