Italy is at war. In a not so particular one that it shares with other countries and cities: the battle to stop mass tourism. It is trying hard with higher taxes, entrance fees that doubled after initial success, a ban on key boxes and even taxes on tourist dogs. Now, several cities have agreed on one thing: stop the ‘foodies’.
As? Prohibiting the opening of new restaurants in historic centers.
In short. Going through the historic center of any Italian city is like entering a culinary amusement park. Not only are there restaurants everywhere you look, but they constitute a fair in which eye-catching posters appealing to tradition and artisans who prepare fresh pasta in front of the windows of the establishments, like circus animals, are a constant.
Now, cities such as Rome, Turin, Florence, Palermo and Bologna have implemented restrictions on opening new restaurants in their historic centers.
Displacing the population. Although Italians love their traditional cuisine as much as anyone, they are getting tired of their city centers becoming theme parks. There are especially bleeding streets, such as Via Maqueda in Palermo or Via del Pellegrino in Rome (to a lesser extent), which are basically a succession of stores.
As The New York Times comments, hundreds of new restaurants have opened over the last decade in just a few streets of these tourist spots, establishments that dress in tradition, but that are not and displace the local population far from their homes.
It is something that is seen in many other cities in the world in which touristification is causing the Price of land to rise at very specific points, including rents, and locals see how traditional businesses disappear while others linked to that consumerism flourish.
“We must protect the center”. In the case of Italy, the aim is to fight against gastronomic gentrification, which is replacing historical markets and local stores with businesses aimed at mass tourists, and they also want to protect the authenticity and daily life of citizens.
But we also want to preserve tradition and diversity compared to more homogeneous or franchised models. Luisa Guidone, Councilor for Commerce of Bologna, comments that “the center must be protected, maintaining the mix of existing stores that allow citizens to have their daily experience when shopping.”
Everyone makes their war. As we say, the prohibition or limitation on opening premises is not part of a national initiative, but rather of each municipality. In Palermo, new restaurant licenses have been expressly prohibited in emblematic areas such as Via Maqueda. In Florence, no new openings of bars, restaurants or any food establishments in more than 50 streets in the center and some peripheral ones.
In the aforementioned Bologna, until June 2028, new projects aimed at commercial activities that want to open in the historic center and in Rome or Turin, more of the same (especially around the Vatican) will be carefully studied. Then, there are exceptions. For example, Florence allows you to open establishments such as art galleries, bookstores or crafts, anyone that is not focused on mass hospitality.
Not just food. But this goes beyond gastronomic gentrification. In the Corriete di Bologna we can read that the restrictions imply that, until 2028, it will be prohibited to open new money exchange establishments, call centers (which are telephone centers, Internet connection points and money transfer points) in the historic center, as well as “Buy gold” or automatic ‘slot’ machines.
Debate. Now, promoting something like this is complicated when tourism represents almost 12% of the Italian economy and gastronomic tourism is an important source of income. In fact, in the NYP article they include statements from tourists who only want to eat.
Also those responsible for FIPE, the Italian Federation of Food and Tourism Companies, who point out that “sometimes, the Coliseum is an excuse for an American among a cheese and black pepper and one tomato and bacon“In addition, it is criticized that each city is waging war on its own and there is no law promoted at the national level.
In any case, as we said at the beginning, it is evident that Italy has a problem with this mass tourism that is displacing the population that really lives in those cities. Traditional businesses have closed or have been converted, going from selling useful foods for citizens to traditional dishes wrapped in a striking way for tourists. And finding the balance seems tremendously complicated.
Images | Anna Church, Maxime Steckle, Matej Buchla
In WorldOfSoftware | “Fodechinchos free”: in a bar in Galicia, tourismphobia is being redirected against Spaniards from other regions
