L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano V e n i c e a n d Florence are key players in I t a l y ' s w e l l honed tourism industry. But the past year has proven difficult beyond belief for them, too. While the end of the pandemic is far from being "around the corner," the mayors of both cities recently stressed it is essential to be ready when the emergency is over and to start the right way. One year of forced stop d i d n ' t o n l y m e a n l o s s o f income for the sector, but also time to reflect on what tourism, especially art touri- sm, had become in pre-pan- demic times and on how it c a n b e i m p r o v e d . B o t h Florence and Venice, in fact, h a d a l r e a d y s p o k e n u p against the damages mass tourism imposed to the deli- cate balance between touri- sts, locals and artistic patri- mony, stressing the need to find a constructive solution t o l e t t h e w o r l d k e e p o n enjoying their beauty, but without putting at risk the cities and their residents' quality of life. In this sense, the pandemic had another role: it has been changing the way we conceive touri- s m , t h e w a y w e c o n c e i v e e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d f r e e time. There has certainly b e e n a l o n g i n g f o r c a l m , tranquillity and safety, and f o r t o u r i s t i c e x p e r i e n c e s based on quality and on a slower approach to discove- ring the world. This is all good in theory, b u t I t a l y , F l o r e n c e a n d Venice in primis, must be r e a d y w h e n t o u r i s t s w i l l come again, with their new p o s t - p a n d e m i c d e m a n d s . And it will be important, then, not only to ensure they can enjoy the best experien- ce, but also that their pre- sence is not damaging to the fragile equilibrium of our art cities. Let's put it this way: it's time we stop seeing our art patrimony as fast-food for tourists, and begin trea- t i n g i t l i k e t h e t h r e e Michelin starts restaurant it is. that "Florence and Venice a r e t a k i n g t h e P r i m e Minister's appeal to relaun- ch art tourism very seriou- s l y , " e s p e c i a l l y b e c a u s e international tourism means art tourism in our country. Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of Venice, agrees: "Our aim is to show the way and help r e v i v e t h e c o u n t r y . I t a l y can't start over without the contribution of art tourism and art cities, which have an immense power of attrac- tion for the international public. Venice and Florence — he continues — share a strong historical bond, and t h e y a r e a s y m b o l o f t h e country's will to win this battle." So, what's this decalogue all about? T h e C i t t à d ' A r t e ? #NONmetterledaparte document has been redacted by Venice and Florence to p r o p o s e a n a r t t o u r i s m - b a s e d a p p r o a c h t o t h e r e l a u n c h o f o u r S i s t e m a Paese. It proposes ten ways to contribute to urban rege- neration, bringing together tourism, environment, cul- ture, technology, services, business and accommoda- t i o n i n a s u s t a i n a b l e a n d innovative manner. The decalogue is divided in three parts. The first is dedicated to the protec- tion of our tourism industry and involves economic sup- port for workers and busi- nesses, incentives for touri- sts to visit the country and a stress on regulating the tou- rist guide and art guides ser- vices to ensure they are car- ried out only and exclusively by professionals. The second p a r t , w h i c h f o c u s e s o n transports, suggests both an improvement of national r e g u l a r s e r v i c e s a n d t h e creation of ad hoc tourist transportation services. The t h i r d p a r t p r o p o s e s n e w ideas to improve accom- modation conditions for tourists and to ensure the The mayors of Florence, D a r i o N a r d e l l a , a n d Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, share the same idea and feel t h e i r c i t i e s , p e r h a p s t h e most representative in Italy o f t h e t u r i s m o d e l l ' a r t e a l o n g w i t h o u r c a p i t a l , should be standard-bearers for a new way to enjoy art. Their ideas have been con- densed in a ten-points gui- deline to be presented to M i n i s t e r f o r T o u r i s m Massimo Garavaglia, as Nardella explains to Firenze Today: "The decalogue has been created by Florence and Venice, two symbols of Italian beauty and art in the world, but the initiative is open to all cities. We had t h e i d e a a f t e r P r i m e Minister Draghi's speech at the Senate, in occasion of his inauguration, where he mentioned our art cities and the necessity to find a new model able to valorize, pro- mote and safeguard them." Nardella concludes stating r i g h t s o f r e s i d e n t s a r e respected, with new regula- tions for short-term rentals and new norms about public safety and behavior in cities. The aim is that of brin- g i n g b a c k t o u r i s t s t o o u r beautiful cities, but also to make sure they are aware and respectful of the treasu- res they enjoy while here. In the last few years, mass tou- rism plagued our art cities, w i t h b o t h V e n i c e a n d F l o r e n c e b e i n g f o r c e d t o impose stricter rules in the streets, and even adding a tax to limit the amount of visitors each day, as in the c a s e o f V e n i c e . A f t e r t h e p a n d e m i c e m b r a c i n g a slower, less crowded and hectic way to enjoy art will be more natural for us all, but this is why it is impor- tant, as both Nardella and Brugnaro stressed, that the country is ready when the time of ripartire comes: one thing is for sure, we can't fail. LUCA SIGNORINI A gondola sails the Venetian canals: soon, it may return to be normal (Photo: minnystock/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Florence and Venice launch ten rules for new post-pandemic tourism

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