Explore “Botteghe Fiorentine” is the specific new take on the Enjoy Respect Firenze responsible tourism campaign, which was introduced in May 2024. Starting today at international handicraft fair MIDA and continuing throughout 2025, tourists will be encouraged to buy quality local crafts and products from businesses in the city centre and residential neighbourhoods. The aim is to reconnect tourists and citizens, while reinforcing Florence’s unique identity and making informed purchases in the face of the existential threat of mass tourism.
“This project arises from a real and deep-seated need: to protect and promote our historic and traditional workshops, which are not just shops, but true custodians of culture, community and urban memory,” explains Jacopo Vicini, city councillor for economic development and tourism. “These are places full of stories, knowledge and human connections. They keep Florence alive, authentic and recognizable. With this project, we’re sending a strong message: strengthening shared responsibility among citizens, businesses, institutions and associations to support all those who, every day, with their enthusiasm and skill, maintain a window onto Florence at its truest. This effort is part of our broader strategy to reinforce local commercial life and integrate tourism with the city’s productive identity. Promoting these workshops also offers visitors a deeper and more mindful experience, centered on Florence’s artisan soul.”
The campaign, which has been developed by Flod, The Florentine’s sister communications company for Fondazione Destination Florence, the city’s destination management organization, features Dante as the ultimate guide around the best places to shop in Florence. It will consist in store window stickers, interactive totems, advertisements on the city’s buses and trams, billboards and removable water-based installations on the sidewalks, as well as traditional and digital media campaigns. Trade associations, cultural institutions and citizen-led groups will be central to the community-driven project. Study abroad students will also be included through the Be.Long project, which provides services and information to help them integrate into the local culture.
The Enjoy Respect Firenze campaign has grown since its launch and now enjoys the support of partnerships with international companies such as Volotea, Trainline and Get Your Guide.
