The Image of Heritage: Changing Perception, Permanent Responsibilities
Florence, March, 5 - 9, 2009 - ICOMOS, ICCROM, Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco
Sustainable Tourism and Historic Center of Florence UNESCO Management Plan.
Carlo Francini, chief Historic Center - World Heritage UNESCO Office, Municipality of Florence.
Per la registrazione audio con immagini
Florence thrives on its large number of tourists, both Italian and foreign, who come to see its art, architecture and cultural gems. Each year the city must deal with a large quantity of visitors, some who come for pleasure, others for business; some who stay for a short period of time, others who make Florence a new home. Over recent years, the kind of tourism has changed drastically, causing studies to shift from a simple analysis of the quantity of tourists to the quality of tourists. This analysis is necessary in order to provide the visitors with the best possible experience in Florence, as well as to conserve and develop the UNESCO sites in a sustainable way. The Monitoring Plan for the Historic Centre of Florence, published each year with the adequate updates, approaches the question of creating a system of sustainable tourism by creating projects that maximize the city’s art historical sites while facilitating visits for tourists.
1. The Tourism in Florence
The real driving force behind tourism is the Florence’s image in the world, which fuels the demand of growing numbers of consumers (evidence of this can be found in the high profile experienced by Florence in international tour guides or by the presence of the international press in the city, especially in light of cultural events and approaches to visiting the city). These hordes of tourists, due to the myriad different ways they utilise the city, elude definition more than anything else, despite the efforts of tour operators and local government offices.
It is not merely for rhetorical reasons that specialists insist that tourism should be studied in all its different and conflicting forms. It is not enough just to distinguish between high quality tourism and mass tourism, or to think about the matter just in terms of length of stay or even the underlying reasons for travelling – nowadays people always have several motives. Instead, analysis should focus more on factors related to cultural diversity, age and how trips have been organised: this is not easy to do, thought still feasible.
In the last decade, the simultaneous growth of all sectors of tourism has led to the development of a well-defined area of mono-cultural tourism known as the Golden Triangle, characterised by a precise commercial offering, extending as far as the Accademia and the Oltrarno (across the river) in the Ponte Vecchio-Palazzo Pitti zone. The adjacent areas have undergone a more or less rapid and complete transformation in terms of housing and business, which has been caused by the consumption needs of well-off tourists, who favour fashion goods above all other traditional products. A few small areas which border or are embedded within this core area of tourist consumerism, while having gone through an equally obvious business replacement process instead have adapted themselves to the needs of specialised tourism: tourists seeking medium/long-term hotel accommodation in the city; tourists commuting from distant accomodations– increasingly from agri-tourism facilities – who are interested in local crafts albeit adapted to their own needs; student tourists who may stay in Florence from a few days to several months, and require specific telecommunication and leisure services.
In the last few decades in Florence and many other cities known for their art and monuments, a substantial change has occurred in the types of tourists, as well as in travelling habits and the ways of visiting places of artistic value. This ongoing transformation is easily illustrated by looking at the data on length of visit at the Uffizi Museum. According to these findings, visitors spend 1 hour and 8 minutes on average inside the museum. These figures reflect the key characteristics of the so-called "hit-and-run" tourists, who "consume" the Historic Centre without spending much money. As a rule, these tourists do not have time to visit the whole city and confine themselves to sightseeing in the Roman castrum. This most often leads to a concentration of people and tourists within too restricted an area.
In addition to debasing the residential aspect of the Historic Centre, such "short-term" city stays also risk causing more far-reaching urban decay, with devastating effects not only for the quality of life in Florence but also for the city's image abroad.
2. The Management Plan for Tourism
The myth of Renaissance Florence, a city incredibly dense with monuments and artworks, is at the basis of the tourist fortune of the city. Yet is mass tourism a qualifying objective for an exceptional property or rather, does it undermine its value and its integrity? The Management Plan's primary objective is to identify a complex and difficult balance between standardized tourism and a more aware tourist enjoyment. A responsible visitor, equipped with the necessary support tools that will allow him to appreciate the city like a vastly spread museum, shall be urged to visit the minor monuments and museums and shall be able to perceive the cultural value of a network made of stores and restaurants whose strong points are quality and renewed tradition. The organization of large events, the attention paid to the protection and promotion of historical and high quality stores, restaurants and bars, are strategic choices that must be made in order to make Florence, again, a place where it is pleasant to come back and stay for long periods of time.
3. The Projects
Florence is the destination for many Italian and foreign visitors who, every year, walk through the city streets and visit its museums. Tourism is a key element in the economy of the Historic Centre that has to be boosted with suitable policies to promote and to improve the supply of in-coming services. This resource, if it is not adequately oriented, can otherwise represent a very real threat to the preservation and the protection of the site.
The projects, being hereinafter described, aim at disseminating the knowledge of the extraordinary value of Florence UNESCO World Heritage by making not only tourists but also citizens aware of the uniqueness of the Historic Centre, and at promoting the city areas that, although they have an important artistic heritage, are less known and less visited by visitors.
3.1 THE ART ITINERARIES IN FLORENCE - HISTORIC SHOPS
The Art itineraries in Florence project was included in the Management Plan (PdG) of action for tourism, in consideration of the objectives intended to be followed strictly related to cultural tourism. The project's main characteristic consists in choosing and proposing alternative itineraries directed in particular to the city's residents but also to tourists so that they are motivated to follow new routes, allowing them to discover the city's less noted and renown aspects. The project, initiated in its trail phase in 2005 with the publication of the route "Florence: The Places of Perugino" has since become one of the office's main tasks and which to this day is accounted for by the publication of 3 brochures (dedicated to the places of Alberti and Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, as well as Perugino) respectively published alongside 3 exhibitions.
Specifically, the piece on Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi (2007) was executed in collaboration with the district of Montemurlo, interested in the Saint's biography, which in turn marked for the first time an opening of the project towards the territory, furthermore becoming the first effective measure for the sharing of cultural activities amongst institutions. In 2006 the project was further enriched by the publication of a collection entitled, Florence Amongst Art and Workshops which proposed a series of routes centred on the search for "minor" works of art and historical workshops in the vicinity of the city's historical centre. In this way, two projects that coexisted independently of one another within the PdG gave way to a single, albeit larger project which maintained the importance of potential art routes in Florence whilst opening itself to a variety of publications - including the brochure, but expanding to include a book - and itineraries (from Florence: The Places of... to broad routes of art, history and culture).The collection, which received a great deal of acclaim thanks in part to the work of photographer-graphic designer Fabio Chiantini and the words of Francesco Vossilla and Carlo Cinelli, was effected using part of the funds given by the project ResaturoNET which asked for the office's participation in 2006. The publication of the collection also gave way for the creation of a logo which will be embossed on future publications (it has already been used on the brochure on Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi) and will allow for an effective recognition of the project.
Currently, we are weighing the possibility of an english translation that can reach tourists for the second edition. We are also planning new routes in the city's historical centre, which will be released in conjunction with the 2008 exhibitions put forth by the cultural institutions of Florence. It is necessary to note that during 2007 the project Art Routes became the catalyst for various activities executed in collaboration with local figures and private associations and institutions involved in the propagation of culture. Specifically, a route has been engineered for the entire Santa Maria Novella complex - but whose creation is difficult due to both public and private entities owning the property - and which today has become the object of free guided tours offered to a limited number of people within the region's "Amico Museo" in collaboration with the Administration of the District's Economic development. Furthermore, on November 17, 2007, several guided visits of the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia (with Andrea del Castagno frescoes) were organized, along with a taste of local products provided by the organization Slow Food. This event was done in honour of the day "The taste of art, the art of taste", in conjunction with the Headquarters of the Board of the Florentine Museums.
3.2 THE MUSEUM CARD PROJECT
The museum card project, one aspect of the Plan that was chosen to be continued in order to reach the goals set for tourism, underwent monitoring from its inception as the monitoring phase began almost in conjunction with that of collecting information on Florence's historical centre for the publication of the PdG. The project was created to answer to a need, seemingly less frequent on behalf of the citizens and the tourists, for an offer from the city's cultural services that would consist of easier visits to the city's main monuments and museums, as well as some additional services. One of the first responses to the monitoring request, compiled in 2006 by the Administration of Culture of the District of Florence, responsible for the project, discusses a phase of collection and analysis of data which would be used in the publication of a report that would undergo criticism from the deciding factors. Upon a second analysis of the situation which took place in November, 2006, the scene presented changed drastically, as 39 local and private museums and 19 public museums had shown interest and willingness with regards to the Museum Card project. Moreover, the card was still in its planning stage, thus allowing for a better understanding of its characteristics: in brief, it consists in making access to museums and to cultural services in Florence easier, especially in terms of the cost of entry (methods of supplying ticket, validity of ticket, etc.) for tourists and for residents to highlight the worth of the local cultural estate. The card will allow free and unlimited entry to the permanent collections and temporary exhibits that are in line with the project's guidelines, as well as the annual activities made available in the annual program.
All the information and characteristics inherent to the card are made available in the "Preliminary project to effect a Florence card" published by the Associazione Torino Città Capitale Europea in May, 2006.
Within the feedback received during the research and survey phases of the project, considering the number and characteristics of the subjects, the process to establish a single accepted solution was considered especially important and complex. In particular, as stated in the July 3, 2007 interview with Giuseppe Gherpelli, Director of Culture for the District of Florence and head of the Project, the state-run museums, essentially represented by those that are part of the Board of Museums of Florence, have "about 80-85% of visitors with reservations, thus creating a conflict with the card that would be sold daily. This does not mean that we have decided to not follow through with the museum card because many state-run museums outside of the four already stated aren't reached by a steady flow of tourists. Furthermore, with some of the museums, in particular Boboli, we had already established funding from the district in order that the public can access the area and easily move from Forte Belvedere to Villa Bardini, which belongs to Ente Casse".
Equally complicated is being able to locate those that need a more in depth evaluation. On this subject Giuseppe Gherpelli added that the project, "is definite but not 100% executed because it stalled on locating those that need the project... Despite the obstacles with this project, I am convinced that a similar tool lacks in this city...: it is necessary to continue this process and to move forward first and foremost for the citizens to give them the possibility to have a single tool with which to access the museums."
We note that on December 27, 2007, within the confines the appropriate administrative measures, the District of Florence gave Linea Comune S.p.A. the task to finalize, produce and distribute the card and to carry out cultural events and manifestations connected with the success of this system for the museums.
4. New projects
4.1 ARIANNA’S THEME
The Arianna guide is a guide of Florence available through a cellular device on which different types of information regarding the city are memorized. The Arianna guide for the city of Florence allows one to consult data in English and Italian with the possibility to navigate a map of the Historic Centre of Florence by visualising points of art historical interest (museums, churches, etc.), as well as historic shops in the city, traditional artisans, routes for disabled and upcoming events. The guide is available for download on the cellular device through the District of Florence’s website (www.comune.firenze.it) and soon will also be available by way of bluetooth kiosks positioned in various places around the city. The recent data for users who want UMTS/GPRS connection from their own cellular device are museum hours, calendar of special events and and a special section dedicated to “highlights”. Responsible for the project is the Office of Tourism of the District of Florence and its completion is Econoetica srl.
4.2 ART ITINERARIES IN FLORENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
New forms of technology have become, in recent years, seemingly more present in daily life, even in areas of cultural development. Their potential reveals interesting possibilities which must be analyzed and approved with worthy attention. Today digital communication, Internet, and i-pods are widely used, especially by younger generations, but increasingly in older ones, as well. It has been noted that new technologies can be of significant use in areas of cultural activity (guided tours on mp3s, virtual reconstructions of places and buildings, for example) as well as in areas of territorial management and access to major museums and monuments. Consequently, it seems necessary to initiate studies and research in this field in congruence with the formalities that arise with our project
4.3 THE FIRST PROJECT
The new project for the Art Itineraries in Florence has Giambologna in its spotlight as the prolific French-flemish artist who worked in the city in the second half of the 16th century; the itinerary will touch upon over twenty points of interest. The itinerary will be available in Italian and English in free audio and downloadable formats from the District of Florence’s website. A website dedicated to the artist and quality images will also be made available. The monitoring of this new approach to visits will allow us to evaluate the efficiency so as to program, on top of an increase in available languages, new itineraries inside the UNESCO site. Responsible for the project the Office of the Historic Centre of Florence and its completion by D’Uva Workshop srl.
5. Contemporary relevance
The recent data reveals a tendency towards the decrease in tourism directly tied to the economic crisis that is spreading across the financial world. This situation could reveal itself to be an appropriate opportunity to rethink methods of development in the tourism field, as well. The synergy between public and private entities must be researched in order to carry out new projects such as Life Beyond Tourism of the Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco, which constitutes an excellent example of sustainable tourism. The framework of the Monitoring Plan for the UNESCO site Historic Centre of Florence allows for an insertion of sustainable tourism as a fundamental part of the conservation, fruition, and handling of the UNESCO site. The increase in quality must be a backbone for tourism for World Heritage sites; the desire on behalf of the visitors to experience a positive and not mass exposure to the sites must be encouraged and facilitated: we believe that the projects described in this excerpt point in that direction.
