L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023 L'Italo-Americano T o u r i s m , f o r many art cities, is a d o u b l e - e d g e d s w o r d : o n o n e h a n d , i t i n j e c t s capital into the local econo- my, creates jobs, and show- cases cultural heritage but, in r e c e n t y e a r s , i t h a s b e e n c a u s i n g m o r e t h a n o n e headache. Who isn't familiar with the problematic pattern known in Italian as turismo mordi e fuggi – or "bite and run tourism"? As many of you know, the expression refers to quick, in-and-out visits, where the tourist's f o o t p r i n t o u t w e i g h s t h e financial contribution they make. Our most famous art cities have already tried to some- how tackle the issue, as it happened only a few months ago in Venice, where a "daily tax" for tourists not spending the night has been enforced, not without criticism. But mass tourism isn't a problem only in Venice: Flo- rence has been long com- p l a i n i n g a b o u t t h e i s s u e s caused by the at-times diffi- cult-to-handle flux of visitors in its streets. Florence, we all know, has long been hailed as a cultural, artistic, and architectural wonder: the b i r t h p l a c e o f t h e R e n a i s - sance, it bustles with a rich history and an elegant beauty only magnified by legendary buildings like the Uffizi gal- leries, the Ponte Vecchio, and the iconic cathedral with its red-tiled Brunelleschi dome. No wonder the city draws an average of 11 million people each year, certainly attracted by its timeless allure, art, and good food. But the relation- ship between Florence and tourism, as we are about to see, is not without its chal- lenges. F l o r e n c e h a d a l r e a d y taken steps to address the impact of mass tourism a few years ago, by implementing a rather unusual rule: a ban on eating in the streets. This d e c i s i o n w a s m a d e i n response to the increasing p r o b l e m o f l i t t e r l e f t b y tourists enjoying a panino or a g e l a t o w h i l e s t r o l l i n g through the city's narrow, cobbled streets, and of wan- derers sitting on people's doorstep to eat their lunch. This regulation was seen as a way to maintain cleanliness and respect for public spaces w h i l e c u r b i n g d i s r u p t i v e tourist behaviors: and while many visitors didn't appreci- ate the move much, locals were happy to see their city n o l o n g e r t r e a t e d l i k e a n open-air fast food restau- rant. Recently, however, Flo- rence has decided to make a n e v e n m o r e a u d a c i o u s m o v e , b a n n i n g a i r B&Bs and other forms of short-term rentals from its city center. By doing so, it aims to rebalance its resi- dential landscape by pre- s e r v i n g i t s c h a r m w h i l e ensuring the availability of affordable housing. Florence M a y o r D a r i o N a r d e l l a describes the ban as "daring" but certainly not against the law and defends his decision by stating that "If we don't try to take politically disrup- tive actions, no one makes a move." This is a reaction to the pressure on housing stocks, caused by the increase in short-term rentals - those lasting less than 30 days - with art cities like Florence and Venice having seen their housing inventories whittled away by this trend. Among t h e m o s t v o c a l a b o u t t h e issue were university stu- dents who have resorted to c a m p i n g o u t i n t e n t s o n c a m p u s e s t o p r o t e s t t h e scarcity of affordable hous- i n g i n c i t i e s a c r o s s I t a l y , including Florence, Milan, and Rome. H o w e v e r , t h e F l o r e n c e administration isn't intend- ing to take action against the 8 0 0 0 s h o r t - t e r m p r i v a t e rentals currently operating in the city's UNESCO-pro- tected historic center, a zone encompassing landmarks such as the Uffizi galleries a n d t h e P o n t e V e c c h i o . Instead, Nardella proposes a financial incentive to property owners to convert their short-term rental prop- erties back to long-term resi- dences. Under the new plan, prop- erty taxes on second homes would be waived for up to three years which, in turn, could bring in significant savings for property owners, potentially in the thousands of euros. "We are tired of announcements," Nardella s a i d , h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e urgency to address what has now become a "structural" problem in the city. Interestingly, Nardella's attention is also drawn to a draft law prepared by the Italian government on the matter, which he finds "com- pletely ineffective." In his v i e w , t h e " V e n i c e r u l e " - which caps the number of days a property can be rent- e d o u t a t 1 2 0 p e r y e a r - should be extended to all UNESCO art cities with simi- lar characteristics. Further- more, Nardella criticizes the g o v e r n m e n t f o r i g n o r i n g mayors and not providing local administrations with p l a n n i n g a n d r e g u l a t i o n t o o l s , u n l i k e o t h e r m a j o r European countries such as F r a n c e , S p a i n , a n d t h e Netherlands. It is for all these reasons that Florence is putting for- ward this bold new model to tackle the challenge of bal- a n c i n g t o u r i s m a n d l o c a l housing needs. The pioneer- i n g i n i t i a t i v e c o u l d s e t a precedent for other art cities grappling with the effects of turismo mordi e fuggi, in t h e h o p e o f p r o p e l l i n g a more sustainable, resident- friendly approach to urban tourism. I n t h e f a c e o f t h e f a s t - paced, bite-and-run tourism it is used to, Florence decid- ed to bite back, hoping that the initiative will protect its h e r i t a g e a n d i n h a b i t a n t s w h i l e r e d e f i n i n g w h a t i t means to be a tourist desti- nation in the 21st century. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI Charming Ponte Vecchio, Florence (Photo: Sorin Colac/Dreamstime) Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, wants to stop short-term rentals in the town's historical center (Photo: Veronika Galkina/Dreamstime) Florence takes a bold step against short-term rentals NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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