by 30 March 2024 was a sunny Easter Saturday in Florence. In the historic Piazza del Duomo, preparations were being made for the Scoppio del Carro (Chart Burst), a centuries-old ritual featuring a parade of flag-bearers and costumed musicians, a raised cart full of fireworks, a mechanical pigeon. and lots of noise.
At 11am sharp, the pigeon would be shot along a wire from the High Altar in the Duomo; According to local lore, if he lit the fireworks, there would be a bumper harvest.
It was one of the busiest weekends of the year, and the Unesco-protection the middle of the stories was heaving. Tourists blocked bridges taking selfies and gawping at their TikTok feeds; bike rides and golf carts pumped up traffic; and there was hardly a table to be found at any of the restaurants. Among the residents, there was a feeling of déjà vu. Few of us want another summer season to be the last.
Florence has recently faced a lot of criticism, with articles appearing in the foreign press highlighting the impact of the estimated 11 million visitors in 2023 on the historic city and its inhabitants. And those numbers are expected to exceed this year, there is the issue of over-tourism – especially the “mordi and fuggi” (hit and run) that offers almost nothing as income – a hot topic.
Residents leaving the the middle of the stories in droves, driven by rising rents and a shortage of available housing. Entire palazzi are being converted into short-term lettings (it’s said that 29 percent of downtown apartments are now given over to Airbnbs), and real estate is being snapped up at inflated prices by relocating foreigners leaving hollowed-out neighborhoods. and a sense of anger – and loss – among residents.
Small shops – which depend on local trade for survival – are forced to close, and replaced by centers selling focaccia, fast food, mass-produced gelato or tacky souvenirs. The streets in the city center are so full of people and traffic that navigating everyday life is a serious problem.
And yet…Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance and home to about 30 percent of the world’s art treasures, remains a ravishing mix of artistic and architectural wonders and excellent “Italian-ness” despite the bad press, richly deserved a a place on anyone’s bucket list.
It is vibrant with renovated galleries and museums, a large number of new hotels, restaurants and cocktail bars and exciting urban regeneration projects, such as the multifunctional creative spaces at Manifattura Tabacchi in the former tobacco factory.
Extended pedestrian zones make walking around the city center a much more pleasant experience, new tram lines are being built that improve the accessibility of outlying neighbourhoods, and plans to widen the runway at Peretola airport look set to bring more handling flights. The newly designed terminal building will even have a rooftop vineyard.
And while the number of tourists can be a challenge, there are ways to mitigate the problem when planning your visit. First, choose your dates carefully. If you first come to see art, do it in winter (Christmas holidays aside, December to February are the best months).
For sunnier weather, choose the so-called shoulder seasons (early spring or late autumn), and pre-book time slots to visit the main galleries at the end of the day when most people leaving. You can always go back for a second visit if needed. Avoid the first Sunday of the month when many museums are free, and Tuesday when the cruise ships dock in Livorno, putting to shame thousands of passengers on coaches that go to David and the Duomo. Until December 27, the Uffizi will remain open on Tuesdays until 10pm, long after the cruise ships have returned to their ships.
Even more extreme? Consider pushing the big hitters side by side. While the masses queue under the baking sun to score a selfie in front of the world’s most famous nude statue, wonders such as the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, the Bargello and the Museo di San Marco are not given special attention, even in the high season.
Discover off-the-radar gems like the Last Supper painting by Andrea del Sarto in San Salvi, the Perugino Cross in Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi and the wonderfully eclectic – and eccentric – private collections in the Stibbert and Bardini museums. There is enough to keep an art buff happy in Florence for several weeks without going anywhere near the main galleries.
The city’s eating and drinking scene is thriving, with young chefs digging into their culinary roots in a wave of new-generation osterias, more and more out-of-the-way places where you’ll find a neighborhood vibe, reasonable prices and plenty. Italian speaking.
If you want to stay in the thick of things, there are of course many excellent centrally located hotels and short-term lets to choose from – but a B&B or apartment outside the city walls will give you a much more local insight into Florentine life. . Le Cure, Piazza Beccaria, Campo di Marte and Gavinana are lively neighborhoods with good transport links and bustling markets, as well as plenty of small shops, bars and restaurants where Italian is still the main language.
On June 8 and 9, Florentines will go to the polls to elect a new Sindaco (mayor) with the issue of over-tourism and the resulting complex effects among the hottest topics on the table.
Most feel that outgoing mayor Dario Nardella’s move to ban new Airbnbs in the the middle of the stories it was too little too late, but will the former German director, the former director of the Uffizi gallery Eike Schmidt, whose candidacy supports the right-wing coalition of PM Giorgia Meloni, be able to convince on the media. Fiorentini left-leaning that he is their man?
In a recent interview with The Times, he declared that he was “on a mission to save this city”, adding that he had decided to run “because I love Florence with all my heart and I cannot see that she is treated badly”.
His desire is to make Florence great again. Fine words, but are they enough? We will find out soon.
