Worst Rick Steves General Travel Advice Ever

It is not good to wear shorts in Italy, except for going to the beach.  

You will not be able to enter a lot of churches with bare legs -- and /or shoulders, too, for that matter.

At the Siena Cathedral, women -- and men -- are given this gauzy item to cover their bare shoulders.  And along with at least a hundred other tourists inside the Cathdral during our visit, I wearing shorts.  Nobody said "boo".

Does Rick's staff do all of their research remotely?

It's 2014, and from my observations during 10 days in Italy, shorts are very popular attire.  I wish I had packed more pairs than I did, especially with the temperatures in the 90s this week. 

Although not as common as in other locations, you'll find people wearing shorts in the long lines leading to the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica.  We didn't see anyone so attired being turned away, but from everything I've read, St. Peter's strictly enforces its dress code.  Otherwise, the churches we visited were accommodating as long as visitors weren't exposing too much skin, e.g., wearing short shorts, bikini tops.  And so far, we've encountered no "sagmeisters" in Italy.

So...did the guy, standing just to the right of bottom center in the photo below pass muster?