Most tourists visiting Venice were probably not aware! Neither was I! 😄
"Ponte delle Tette is a small bridge ... in ... Venice, Italy ... It takes its name ("Bridge of the Tits") from the use of the bridge by prostitutes, who were encouraged to stand topless on the bridge and in nearby windows to entice and convert suspected homosexuals. ...
The Serenissima restricted prostitution in Venice to the area Carampane di Rialto by official decree in 1412. The prostitutes were severely restricted in their movement and behaviour. The buildings of the area had become property of the Serenissima when the last of the rich Rampani family had died without an heir. A curfew was imposed on them, and they could not leave the area except on Saturdays, when they had to wear a yellow scarf, as opposed to the white scarf of a marriageable woman. They could not work on certain holy days, with transgression of the rules sometimes resulting in flogging.
During the 16th century, the prostitutes faced strong competition from homosexuals and formally asked the Doge to help them.[7] The authorities, keen to suppress homosexuality (which was perceived as a social problem), allowed the prostitutes to display their breasts from balconies and windows near the bridge to attract business.[7] At night they were permitted to use lanterns to illuminate their breasts.[8] To divert with such incentive the men from sin against nature[1] the Serenissima also paid prostitutes to stand in a line across the bridge with breasts exposed.[2] The display of breasts also served to exclude transvestite prostitutes. ..."
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