Those ‘free shot’ flyers littering Piazza del Duomo all weekend long may soon be but a happy memory. The new drinking tagline may well become, ‘Go to bars with intelligence.’ The Smart Bar project, created in a collaboration between the Union of Club Owners (SILB), the Italian Federation of Public Enterprise (FIPE), and the Association of American Universities in Italy (which represents 35 schools), aims to create a safe environment in bars by discouraging excessive drinking and providing assistance to those who have over-imbibed.
The protocol of the project, co-sponsored by the City’s Health Councilor, the Questura, and the Consulate General of the United States in Florence, calls for the end of happy hour, no more free or low-priced shots, and no more in the evenings free drinks. From now on, Florentine bars participating in the scheme will stop extending enticing invitations to try new cocktails or to drink a lot at discount prices. These bars and clubs are also dedicated to helping those who ignore the good-natured warnings and wind up drunk. Employees will provide on-the-spot assistance, such as accompanying them to find a taxi home. For now, 20 bars in Florence, most in the historical centre, are adhering to the initiative. Participants will hang up a sign that reads ‘Smart Bar – Safe Fun’ to identify themselves as proponents of the project.
Alcohol is considered the number one danger among young people, especially for the 7,000 American students who swarm Florence each year. Indeed, it was the excess of drunk Americans that sounded the alarm and called for the creation of this ‘Smart Bar’ initiative. In the United States a strictly enforced drinking age of 21 since alcohol is forbidden to many at home, they begin to experiment with drink in Italy and can easily go overboard.
