Complaints from locals have caused the city council to ban outdoor dining completely in part of the city centre, while restrictions will apply to other parts of the town. While some are against the measures, others are in favour of even stricter rules.
A rising number of tourists in the Italian city of Florence has also caused a surge in visual clutter, while the increased amount of outdoor dining options is restricting the public space. Locals have been complaining about the matter, leading to a new protocol signed by the Municipality of Florence and the Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape.
In order to protect the city’s artistic and architectural heritage and to ensure a more balanced use of public space, it has been decided that outdoor dining will be completely banned on 50 streets within the UNESCO World Heritage area of Florence. Impacted locations include tourist favourites such as the Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale degli Uffizi, and Via Roma.
73 other streets and squares will be divided into five categories, deciding on the rules that apply to outdoor dining in the area. In some places, enclosed structures will still be possible, while only simple tables and small umbrellas will be allowed in others. Overall, plastic weather coverings should be banned and sustainable, local flora should embellish terraces across the city.
For four of Florence’s grandest squares – piazzas Signoria, Santa Maria Novella, Pitti and Repubblica – special regulations will apply, which will be decided and shared before mid-December 2025.
@florencewithlocals Beautiful Piazza della Signoria #firenze #florence #italy ♬ Ethereal – Txmy
According to Jacopo Vicini, the city’s tourism chief, the new measures aim to reduce the visual clutter in the UNESCO World Heritage city centre, while also enlarging the public space and limiting congestion in the streets, which, according to some, have turned into obstacle courses. The new regulations are scheduled to go into effect in early 2026.
Pros and cons
However, not everyone seems to be pleased with the new rules. According to Ilaria Agostini, heritage expert at Bologna University, the new measures focus too much on aesthetics and do not mention the often-ignored rule of capping outdoor space at 50% of the indoor capacity. Restaurant owners, however, find the measures go much too far.
“True restaurateurs have begun to close. They are crushed by impossible costs and by city policies more concerned with the aesthetics of outdoor seating than with the survival of those who brought these spaces to life”, wrote food writer Leonardo Romanelli on the news site Cibo Today.
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Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, outdoor or alfresco dining has become popular across Italy. In a speech at the lower house of parliament in 2024, Luciano Sbraga of the Fipe hospitality federation explained how 42% of restaurants had invested in outdoor spaces between 2020 and 2023. Banning or heavily restricting outdoor dining could thus have a big impact on Florence’s culinary scene.
