The benefits that Florence enjoys by being the preferred tourist destination generally outweigh the costs. But now the cost includes the social life of Florentine youth, who say they can no longer afford a night out on the town.
With a simple pizza and beer under the cupola running a minimum of 15 euro per person, and a dinner and after-dinner drink near the Ponte Vecchio starting at 50 euro, Florentine youth are left with no option but to seek out less costly ways of having fun.
So what do youth do in the city? They go for the ever-more popular aperitivo (costing about 7 euro) where they usually nibble on enough cheese squares and cold pasta so that they can skip dinner, and then either head to the suburbs for a drink and dancing, or attend a free summer show in the centre.
