AIRBNBs
Look around Florence’s historic city center and you’ll notice that there aren’t a lot of locals around. And not only because we’ve learned to duck away from the main tourist arteries when it gets too chaotic and crowded, but mostly because, quite simply, we’ve been priced out. We are in the throes of a massive housing crisis, and Airbnb is at the epicenter of it. It’s been bad for a while, but the post-COVID surge in tourism has seen the amount of Airbnb rentals in the city center skyrocket from 7,500 to around 11,000 in just over a year. Many apartments and homes that could have been available for long-term residents are now being snatched up by property owners looking to cash in on the tourist boom by renting out private residences short-term, which also allows them to pay significantly less tax than if they were registered as a legitimate business. As a result, finding an affordable place to live in Florence has become a daunting task for locals, thanks to extortionate rents and a decrease in available housing options. At the same time, legitimate hoteliers and B&B owners are suffering, paying 60% in taxes compared to the 11% their Airbnb counterparts pay, which risks putting them out of business too. The problem is so pervasive that last week, Florence mayor Dario Nardella proposed a ban on any new Airbnbs or other short-term vacation rentals in the city center. So please, for the sake of the Fiorentini, consider a hotel for your next trip. And would you look at that, we’ve got a few suggestions.
SUPERCAZZOLA
You know that annoying little game, so beloved by teenage boys worldwide, where you make a circle with your thumb and index finger and position it below your waist as a sort of “gotcha” thing? Well, it has a name–supercazzola–and it was invented right here, in Florence. Move over Michelangelo, this is probably our city’s most prolific legacy. The word “supercazzola” means nonsense, and the core of the gesture is mostly just to confuse people, as was first seen in the movie Amici Miei (1975). In the movie, the protagonist interjects his speech with gibberish to try to confuse people who don’t know Italian. Unclear how that eventually led to the “made ya look” game we all know and hate today but hey, all in good fun. If somebody in the region of Florence talks about supercazzola, they just mean that something is absurd, so laugh along.
SIDEWALKS AND STREETS (OR LACK THEREOF)
Did you know that Florence was the first city in Europe to have paved streets, in 1339? It’s a point of local pride here, so much so that they seem to have not repaved them since. Potholes are to Florence what traffic is to Rome–just a fact of life. Honestly, they may as well have left the streets cobbled, for how uneven they are. So, if you plan on riding a bike here, please be sure to wear a helmet. Honestly, it might be a good call to bring some protective gear along even on foot–if you don’t want to end up on crutches, you can forget about wearing heels. Florentine sidewalks are barely large enough for one person to walk down single-file, meaning the roads become a sort of survival of the fittest between pedestrians, bikers, and drivers.
VEGETABLES (OR LACK THEREOF)
Italian produce is some of the best you’ll find, and the region of Tuscany is no exception. The climate and varied terrain here makes for bountiful harvests, and with so much agricultural land, it’s not hard to find markets where you can buy direct from farmers. Looking at restaurant menus in and around Florence, you would never know it though. Neither love nor money will get you a decent salad in this city, unless you happen upon a rare place where the panzanella isn’t 80% bread. Meaty secondi are often accompanied by vegetarian sides, the most common of which are braised spinach, patate al forno, and stewed beans–all of which are tasty, but certainly don’t do justice to the amazing and varied produce that’s available. For the rare few gems that do serve nice veg here, check out our handy little roundup of our favorite Florentine restaurants. And, if we may be so bold, hit up Sant’Ambrogio market and get yourself some in-season tomatoes, juicy peaches, and fragrant fennel to crunch between a bistecca and a panino, we don’t want you getting gout.
ANCIENT GRAFFITI
Only in Florence does graffiti mean a bas-relief portrait by Michelangelo. In the proto-spray paint era, the Renaissance king left his own kind of tag on the Palazzo Vecchio, in the form of a profile etched into the stone. Direct yourself to the corner of Palazzo Vecchio nearest the Uffizi and you’ll see it, along with an inscription that translates to “who could ever say it is by my hand?” It’s thought that he carved it as a sort of Easter egg, with the face looking towards his statue of David, which at the time was placed near the Palazzo’s entrance. While there’s evidently no certificate of authenticity–and many people say it’s a dupe–we like the thought of an impish Michelangelo committing an act of light artistic vandalism, so this is the story we choose to believe.
