Paninis Are Pa-nonos: Mayor Of Florence Takes Aim At Tourist Picnicking
"Florence has taken aim at picnicking tourists. The problem: visitors who choose to
dine on the steps of the Italian city's historic churches."
"Earlier this week, just before lunchtime, the city began hosing down the front steps of a basilica where sightseers like to sit and eat. Mayor Dario Nardella's goal is to make the steps wet enough that tourists won't gather there."
"Tourists 'eat and drink and make it dirty,' Nardella told Toscana TV. 'They're treating our churches like they're a restaurant. And they're not restaurants. These are religious and cultural sites that you should love and care for.'"
"Tourism is big business in Florence. The Guardian reports that more than 12 million tourists a year have visited the city since Nardella took office in 2014."