|
Florence is the
latest Italian tourist destination to adopt the mantra "you are
what you eat", and is requiring shops and restaurants to make
sure that 70 percent of their food comes from the surrounding
region.
"We are seeing an unstoppable distortion in our cultural
heritage, of which food is a part," Mayor Dario Nardella wrote
on his Facebook page.
"A restaurant opens every week in Florence, not to mention
minimarkets and Asiamarkets," he said, apparently referring to
food and drink shops often run by immigrants and open all hours.
Promoting a short supply chain and seasonal eating has been
fashionable in Italy for years, promoted by the Slow Food
movement and upmarket food hall chain Eataly. But now local
governments are turning up the heat.
Last month for example, Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi said he would
not allow new kebab shops to open in the historic center of the
city where William Shakespeare set "Romeo and Juliet".
These measures have prompted a mixed reaction among Italy's
legion of gastronomic pundits and business people, some noting
that local products could also be of low quality while others
said the move would help defend local biodiversity.
Nardella's drive in Florence appeared even simpler, though: to
offer good local food and less junk to the city's crowds of
visitors.
"Where once there were artisans' workshops, historic cafes,
cinemas and old taverns, now fast food, pizzerias and low-grade
restaurants have opened, ready to snare the first unsuspecting
tourist," he said.
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
