LONDON — The Rialto Bridge in Venice, the oldest of the four structures spanning the Grand Canal in the Italian city, has seen it all.

But the sight of two German backpackers setting up a travel stove to make their morning coffee on the steps of the 400-year-old monument was too much for a local resident, who promptly reported it to the police.

The travelers from Berlin, an unidentified man and a woman ages 32 and 35, were fined a total of 950 euros (or $1,000) under rules introduced in May to preserve “decorum” in the city center.