Anyone planning a trip to Florence, Italy is probably looking forward to the food. Potential visitors may even specifically imagine eating these foods outside. (Perhaps a stroll with a gelato?) But if tourists eat in the city, they may be breaking the law, as Florence has enacted a ban on street eating. Don't worry too much, though, it only works on certain streets at certain times of the day.
According to CNN, the fasting order came into effect on September 4. The aim of the ban is to reduce congestion and litter on the streets from tourists as they choose to dine al fresco in busy areas. The ban is implemented in four popular streets: Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano, Via de' Neri and Via della Ninna, and only on certain streets. Time slots implemented - 12 noon to 3 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm. The time when people are most likely to eat there. Fines range from 150 to 500 euros ($173 to $580).
In an article titled "Smart idea or snobbery: Is Florence right to ban street eating?" the Guardian reported that a major cause of the congestion was a panini shop called All'Antico Vinaio , the shop is so popular that visitors are lining up to eat its sandwiches ahead of other businesses. Perhaps the ban will attract people to other stores, but only if customers want to eat inside or travel further to buy something. Overall, there is also an overlap in the types of businesses present in tourist areas. It's difficult for residents to do things like grocery stores because there are so many businesses catering to tourists and students, one activist told NPR last year.
Both CNN and The Guardian noted that it is unclear how the new restrictions will be enforced or how the wide range of fines will be used.
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella posted the ban on Facebook, with many residents speaking out against it and blaming the area for a lack of real seating, CNN reported. There are too few trash cans. One commenter wrote: "No fines for putting benches. The problem is there is no dirt on the sidewalk." Nadella responded by saying there were plans to add more benches, including "five new benches in Piazza San Firenze." Another Facebook user wrote: "These benches will also serve us residents: my mom is old, but she can no longer walk in her beloved city because there are no benches to rest on occasionally." Several commented of people also expressed concerns about "squatters" in the area.
According to Travel + Leisure , the ban will last until January 6, 2019, at which time its effectiveness will be reviewed. The publication also noted that the ban comes a year after Mayor Nadella tried another tactic to prevent crowds of tourists: hosing down church steps. Since tourists tend to hang out in front of the city's churches, he thought getting the steps wet would prevent them from sitting down for a while. It seems this was unsuccessful. The sun quickly dried out the steps, NPR reported. Plus, Nadella said at the time that he was trying to do that instead of fining people, and we can all see now how that turned out.
