Cecilie Hollberg ruffled a few feathers earlier this year, suggesting mass tourism has turned Florence into a “prostitute”, but her piece about the effects of hit-and-run tourism (Opinion, 18 April) is a model of clear thinking and good journalism. By coincidence, it appeared as I returned from Italy, feeling a little guilty about the “thrill-is-gone” sentiments I’d had about the cradle of the Renaissance. When the Judas trees and the wisteria are in flower and the swifts are circling above the streets there’s no better place to be; yet going back for the first time since lockdown, I was struck more than ever by the self-absorption of some of the visitors, posing for their Instagram shots on the terrace of San Miniato while mass was quietly being celebrated inside, or checking their phones as they trailed the guides’ ubiquitous don’t-go-astray flags.
Florence has so much to offer, beyond the honeypots. You want to return again and again – to discover another hidden fresco, another sunlit cloister. And the people who still live and work in the city are engaging and generous. They deserve exactly the kind of consideration that Hollberg is advocating. Our visit this time was saved from disaster by the kindness of a local resident who spotted that we were stranded outside our hotel, which had been suddenly and inexplicably closed for a decorative makeover (Tibetan singing bowls, yoga and guided jogging). She helped us to contact the management and find another place to stay beyond the old city wall, where the small shops still thrive on the streets and the food in the trattorias tastes even better.
Yes, let’s give the museums and piazzas back to the people of Florence, so they can share their wonderful city with us, knowing that we respect them.
Stuart Henson
Catworth, Cambridgeshire
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