A Renaissance Disneyland?

After meeting with a Florentine artisan yesterday (see my post "Tourism and artisans"), my head filled with questions so I decided to dive into the complex sociocultural reality of this city by proactively engaging in discussions with any local willing to do so. Of the many things that the artisan told me, a few struck my attention: in his opinion there are too many tourists today in Florence, most tourism is of very low quality, and this situation is a recent phenomenon - he considers 2005 to be the year in which things turned for the worse in Florence.

I was (and am) very curious to understand more about the phenomenon of tourism in Florence, and in particular how locals feel affected by it, whether positively or negatively, and why. So today I had a walk across the river and walked in another artisan's workshop; I've known the owner for various years, so I felt comfortable sharing with him my curiosity. I'll call him Lorenzo for anonymity's sake.

I asked Lorenzo what he thinks about tourism in Florence, and he bluntly told me that in his opinion it's horrible: too many people crowding the city, "consuming, consuming, consuming" and making life impossible for locals. He volunteered that Florence isn't the livable city it used to be: too many people, too many cars, low air quality, streets constantly jammed. I asked him if it's always been like this and he explained that some years ago big cruise ships started going to the Tuscan port of Livorno, "unloading" thousands of people that are then brought to Florence by bus. In his opinion this is one of the reasons for which tourism has increased exponentially - in numbers but not in quality.

I found it very interesting that Lorenzo's ideas matched perfectly Luca's (that's how I'll call the artisan I spoke with yesterday). In fact, I was thrilled to find that Lorenzo's cruise-ship theory might actually be the explanation of what Luca mentioned - the idea that tourism has grown exponentially since 2005.

Lorenzo went on to say that he's been thinking about leaving for quite some time. "Things aren't as they used to be. And they're turning for the worst". "Where will you go?" I asked him. "In the countryside, in a field, in a forest. In solitude. Away from this mess". And I know he's saying this seriously: he has worked with his hands all his life, creating in a variety of fields, and living all around the world. I know that when he says he is thinking about leaving, he means it.

I pointed out that it's unfair to have to leave one's own very home. He agreed, but he also pointed out that it's not just the overcrowded streets or dangerous traffic that compel him to seek other options; life itself has become unpleasant, people around him behave in ways that contradict the lifestyle he believes in. To quote him: "People just buy, buy, buy, consume, consume, like chickens". 

I found this harsh metaphor quite thought provoking: the consumeristic turn that Italian society has taken over the past couple decades has, in other words, made people like animals, because they have become focused solely on the material aspects of life - and this is something that should characterize other animal species, not (in theory) ours. 

To understand the depth of Lorenzo's statement you should have been with me last week, when I visited him in his workshop with some people. They asked him if he gets by (economically) with his work; he said that he doesn't earn much because his products are all hand-made and if he really valued his work he should set a higher price range, but people aren't willing to pay so much...so he must keep his prices lower, and for this reason he manages to pay the bills, but money is generally scarce.
They looked at him for a couple seconds, and then one of them asked what compels him to continue being an artisan, given that he doesn't earn much more than what he needs to pay bills. He stared at us, then turned to me and asked: "When you come here, do we have a good.looking face? Do we smile? Do we look happy?". I said that indeed they do, there's always a lovely vibe in his workshop. Lorenzo then turned to my friend and said: "That's why".

Can one live at a humaine pace within one's own workshop and home, and be satisfied, while the outside world is taking a completely different turn?
Maybe not. 

And this is why Lorenzo is thinking about leaving Florence, despite being deeply in love with this city.

I asked him what we can do about this state of things, and he said "Nothing. What can we do???". Indeed, we are overpowered by numbers. 

"And what about local politicians? Aren't they taking care of the city somehow?". "Oh those people. Leave them out of the matter. They do no good". 

What will happen if locals move out, as indeed they are? What is Florence becoming? A plastic Renaissance Disneyland?

Tourism and artisans

Today I had a wonderfully interesting experience.

I walked in the workshop of a Florentine artisan and we started talking about his sales; a huge tour group stopped in front of his shop, blocking the entrance like a live but immobile wall, their backs to us, listening to the guide. After just a few minutes, they turned to the side and walked away, without even glancing for a moment at the artisan's beautiful window display.

One woman who was with me pointed out that she would have definitely looked in the window and felt curious and compelled to come in...and that comment got me thinking...and got us talking...and we discussed what exactly is going on with contemporary tourism, how it affects Florence, and how it affects the business of this particular artisan.

He told us many things, and I learned some pretty interesting pieces of information from him:

1. Today Florence is overcrowded with masses of tourists that spend a very short amount of time here (even just an hour), visit Piazza Duomo and Piazza della Signoria, shoot a couple photos while rushing after the guide, and all along learn just about nothing of Florence itself. To quote our host, "at most, they'll buy an icecream". 

2. So not only do they not learn about Florence (despite all the language on "discover authentic Florence" that much advertisement uses), they don't even affect much the local economy.

3. What they do affect, in his opinion, is the state of Florence itself as a city, and as a world heritage: groups as big as 80 people crowd the tiny streets, stomp all over the ancient stones, use them up, even consume the works of art displayed all throughout the city..."but you can't call back Cellini to fix his own sculptures, can you?". No you can't. 

4. This mass tourism exploded around 2005. For some reason, in that period the artisan noticed an evident change: tourist groups grew in number and composition, and this is his opinion is a problem. The city is a difficult place to live, now, for locals.

Words started exploding in my head: globalization, identity, preservation, ecology...and I felt that something is deeply wrong. I also felt compelled to share this idea, to spread somehow an awareness, because it is true that quality of life is getting lower and lower, even in a beautiful place like Florence.

What can we all do to make things turn for the better?