Renaissance Dysneyland

Admission paid upon entering the city gates? Turnstiles and a stamp on your hand if you leave the ‘premises’? Will residents stand by and watch their city become an amusement ‘park’ where visitors pay to see the attractions? Should the hoards of tourists that flock to Flor-ence in search of old art bear the cost of maintaining the city’s streets, sites and services? These are the controversial questions that have been puzzling both national and regional law makers for months. The verdict, it seems, has finally arrived. According to new regulations announced last week during the III National Conference for Tourism, each Italian municipality now has the right to apply a ‘city tax’ of 5 euro per visitor. Florentine citizens and official residents will be free from said contribution, which will weigh on the pocketbooks of both tourists and commuters. The money earned will go towards the city’s service sector to supplement funds needed to manage Florence’s upkeep. Just how will they collect the money? For tourism councillor Silvano Gori, the answer lies in tech-nology. ‘I think we have the technological means for determining who is exempt from payment. We just have to study the best way to put the system into effect,’ he says.