Italy’s prime minister (and technically still the mayor of Florence), Matteo Renzi, has intimated that the February 2017 G8 summit could take place in Florence.
Initial estimates indicate that an investment of 200 million euro will be needed to get the city ready for the global summit; it is expected that more than 4,000 jobs will be created.
Florence is no stranger to holding high-level international meetings, hosting the European Council in 1996, the conference on twenty-first-century reform in 1999 and the Social Forum in 2002. In 2015, Florence will welcome international representatives of Catholic Church and the pope at the Fortezza da Basso.
To host the G8, new funds will be needed to complete the renovation of the Fortezza del Basso, which would serve as the main area for the summit. Among the estimates are 5 million euro to ready the Palazzo dei Congressi, 60 million for the 1,000-seater auditorium at Florence’s new opera house, 15 million for the accommodation block in the Cascine, and 15 million for new parking areas.
Deputy mayor Dario Nardella commented that he views the G8 as ‘a historic challenge that Florence will face in a well-prepared, friendly and efficient way.’
