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Boston Globe

‘Here lies Florence, dead of overtourism'

Summer crowds overwhelm the Ponte Vecchio, Florence's most iconic bridge, famed for the goldsmith workshops and stores that line both sides of it. Stefano Morelli 'I saw it gradually change,' Amato says, 'until in the last few years it has become only for tourists and is an eating place. Everyone has something to eat in their hands.' Florentines are nowhere to be found. Shops selling traditional Florentine goods — ceramics, leather goods, gilt frames — have all but vanished from the city's historic center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Indeed, the center contains some 2,000 bars, sandwich shops, and restaurants. Selfie-takers prove they were at TripAdvisor's most-reviewed restaurant in the world, All'antico Vinaio. Stefano Morelli Along the Via dei Neri, one of Florence's most flocked-to streets, tourists sit anywhere they can, even on historic monuments, with sandwiches from the nearby All'antico Vinaio. Locals complain of their disrespect, noise, and litter. Stefano Morelli Across Europe, tourism has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, sparking a backlash against roller bags and the people who bang them along picturesque cobblestoned streets. Just ask the tourists But for tourists per capita, no European destination beats the seat of the Italian Renaissance. Travelers at Florence's Santa Maria Novella Station. Some 59 million train goers pass through the station annually. Stefano Morelli Tourists flank the Loggia dei Lanzi in central Florence, home of such statues as "The Rape of the Sabine Women" and "Perseus with the Head of Medusa." Stefano Morelli Florence Mayor Sara Funaro has taken to social media to address the problems that overtourism has created. 'Florence is the first city in Italy in terms of density of tourism … at least 25 tourists per resident,' she wrote on Facebook. The city center, which is less than 2 square miles, gets 10.5 million visitors a year. They far outnumber the residents. Florence today has a population of 361,000, down 148,000 since 2000, according to Chiara Agnoletti, a coauthor of a recent report on the city for Tuscany's Regional Institute for Economic Planning. A tourist snags a rare quiet moment in one of Florence's four "Fotoautomatica" booths, where a 2-euro coin buys a strip of analog photos. Stefano Morelli The analog photo booths are a popular tourist attraction. Stefano Morelli 'Before, living here was a privilege,' says Alida Fenizi, an architect who lives on the centrally located Via dei Neri. 'Today, we are invaded by tourists. Both in the streets and in the houses. In my apartment building, there are only short-term rentals.' Tourists swarm the Fontana del Porcellino in the Piazza del Mercato in central Florence. It is said that rubbing the wild boar's snout confers luck. Stefano Morelli Tourists in the Piazza Santa Croce, where the historic Calcio Storico Fiorentino — a full-contact sport that mixes rugby, boxing, and wrestling — took place in June, drawing thousands of spectators. Stefano Morelli In 2012, there were only 150 short-term rentals advertised online in Florence. Today, there are some 12,000. 'Even if business is good, to live in a Florence with fewer and fewer Florentines is to lose a sense of community,' says Stefano Colovicchi, a greengrocer near Piazza Santo Spirito, a neighborhood opposite the city center on the other side of the Arno. The average tiny two-room apartment in Florence is one of the most expensive in Italy: just over €1,100 ($1,290) a month, excluding expenses like water and utilities. The average monthly salary of a clerk or waiter in Florence is €1,400 ($1,640). Living in the city center is out of reach,' says Diletta Fiaschetti, who works at the U-Boat watch store on the Ponte Vecchio. Her thoughts are echoed by Paolo Monteverde of the Florentine University Union, who says, 'The city is only for rich people and tourists.' The average monthly cost of a student's rented room has jumped 59 percent since 2021 to €618 ($723). Roberto Pisoni, a student, says, 'Many people give up studying in Florence because of high rent prices.' Tour groups pause in the Piazza Santa Croce. The likes of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli are buried nearby. Stefano Morelli A new citywide resolution establishes a municipal registry for temporary rentals, valid for five years, and blocks new rentals in the UNESCO area. Residents who rent their apartments in violation of the new regulations risk fines of €10,000. The goal is to reverse the overtourism trend in three years. Meanwhile, some of the Florentines who have stayed have chosen to fight. 'Salviamo Firenze x Viverci' — 'Let's save Florence and live there' — a campaign to counter the rampant spread of Airbnbs and the proliferation of key boxes for short-term renters in the city, staged a funeral at the grand opening of an investor-owned complex, The Social Hub, on the Via Belfiore in the city center in January. 'Here lies Florence,' the protesters' plaque read. 'Dead of overtourism.' Some tourists manage to get away from it all. A picnic in the Giardino delle Rose — the Rose Garden — below the Piazzale Michelangelo. Stefano Morelli