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First it was Rome. Then it was Milan and Venice. Now, Florence has become the latest Italian city to make it clear that it won’t tolerate poorly behaved tourists, with the tourism superintendent Anna Paola Concia announcing #EnjoyRespectFirenze, a new campaign aimed at reminding visitors about some basic dos and don’ts when it comes to respecting Tuscany’s capital city. The plan at this point mainly addresses some very basic matters of good behavior, like not defacing city property or monuments and refraining from littering — behaviors that already carry individual fines of up to 500 euros, or about $590. It’s also important to the city that visitors treat Florentines with respect.
Earlier this year, the Renaissance city began hosing down areas like the steps of the Basilica di Santa Croce to keep visitors from treating them like park benches. “We want to put people off from camping out,” Florence mayor Dario Nardella told The Guardian at the time. “If they sit down, they’ll get wet. Instead of imposing fines, we thought this measure was more elegant.”
Graphics depicting reminders of how to behave properly in public spaces are already popping up around the city, with plans to get businesses that rely on tourists — like hotels, restaurants and tour guide services — to join in the endeavor in the near future.
Florence is one of five cities — alongside Milan, Rome, Naples and Venice — to enact such an initiative through a collaboration known as #EnjoyRespect. Venice was the first to test the waters, and early indicators suggest that it’s working. And that success has Florentines excited about what it might mean for the changes to their own city.
H/T: The Florentine
Source: thepointsguy.com