A friend who lives in the centre of Florence came to dinner the other evening. We got to talking about tourists. “I can’t take it anymore,” she blurted out.
“Just getting out of the front door has become an issue… then you queue for ages just to buy a loaf of bread, the prices are crazy, everyone talks to you in English. The last time I ate in the local trattoria, where I’ve been going for years, we’d hardly put our forks down when the owner made it clear he needed our table.”
While Italian anti-tourist protests have not yet reached the pitch seen in Spanish hotspots such as Barcelona or Mallorca, the rumblings have started. In Venice recently, my wife took a photo of a graffiti scrawl that read “+ DEAD TOURISTS”, and our Florentine friend confirms that similar slogans have appeared there.
Community associations in several Italian cities have begun to mobilise against the wave of short-term lets which have turned whole centro storico neighbourhoods into tourist-only zones, pushing long-term rents beyond the means of all but the wealthiest locals.
While it may not make a difference to all the grumblers, showing that you are in tune with local culture, customs and sensitivities certainly doesn’t hurt. Our amica fiorentina is a Brit who has lived in the city for decades. Her objection to the invasion is partly the numbers, it’s true – but it’s also the way the cultured visitors of yore seem to have been replaced by what she calls “hordes of badly behaved Instagrammers”.
What follows is a short vademecum for British visitors to Italy that will not only avoid hostile stares, but hopefully encourage some real interaction with the locals. Which is – or should be – what holidays are all about.
Be friendly
Do say “buongiorno” or “buonasera” to people whenever you get the chance. Whether you’re entering a shop, passing someone on a hiking trail, or trying to persuade a traffic policeman to let you off the hook for speeding, those two little words make a big difference.