Florence--Picnic Fines

There would be rioting in the streets of Seattle if that was implemented there.

Kind of like the story of why you need a 2x4 to train a mule? You have to get his attention 1st.

The clueless need to wake up. A hit in the wallet is often effective

They tried to do a similar thing in Rome some years ago:

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/world/europe/snacking-at-the-roman-colosseum-prepare-to-pay-a-fine.html

I love that the article mentions “badly educated “ visitors. The Italian word is maleducati, which means rude or ill-behaved. It was so bad in Venice last year you could hardly cross some of the smaller bridges in Dorsoduro. And I am sorry to say, most of the maleducati were American kids.

Via de' Neri has several sandwiches shops, a lot of people buy sandwiches and eats them around, littering the street. On August 20th there was a scene when a shopkeeper asked a group of Spanish tourists not to sit eating and littering in front of his shop. It escalated up to a brawl and the shopkeeper was kicked by the tourists. The rule is designed to prevent scenes like that happening again.

If gelato is included that would be a huge blow to those shops.
When is the last time you consumed a gelato inside a shop?

I believe gelato, or anything else, would not be included if you eat it while walking or find a proper place to sit and eat it. I completely understand the locals' objections and don't think there's anything wrong with enforcing such a policy.

EDIT: And discard wrappers or unused portions in the proper containers. I'll never understand why supposedly intelligent beings find this so hard to do.

The UK link definitely specifies it is only against folks squatting / sitting somewhere and eating.

This CNN link does not make that clear at all
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florence-street-eating-ban/index.html

Seems to be bad reporting by CNN and why I mentioned the gelato comment.

This seems to illustrate the problem of excessive groups of tourists that weren't always there. I remember years ago sitting happily on the Spanish Steps in Rome as I nibbled a panini or a slice of pizza. Now the police enforce laws directing that there should be no sitting on the steps. As with many sites, hoards of eager tourists have caused unintended consequences.

I wish the mayor adopted the same zeal in cleaning up the graffiti on walls and monuments.

I wish the mayor adopted the same zeal in cleaning up the graffiti on
walls and monuments.

This.

Do I understand this right from the CNN article that the ban only applies to certain streets (Via de' Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via della Ninna)?

If tourists treated the cities they visit like home this would not be an issue. Respect is not that easy to do.

Do I understand this right from the CNN article that the ban only applies to certain streets (Via de' Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via della Ninna)?

Why, are you going to get food there, standing in front of somebody's door while eating instead of walking away AND eating?
Ignore the CNN.

I wish the mayor adopted the same zeal in cleaning up the graffiti on
walls and monuments.

I guess that graffiti makers are slightly more difficult to catch than tourists.

As everybody knows they ignore fines and - being non violent offenders under suspicious for a lesser felony - they can't go to prison before a final sentence and a police record. To make them get a police record you need an assistant attorney that takes action for years, not a Mayor. An assistant that either takes action instead of the buildings' owners or that goes in any given building asking landlords to file a report. They did in Milan for years using special funds from the city hall, with little or no results.
Now Milan is a primary target for graffiti crews coming from all over Europe and a competent assistant attorney has wasted years of career.

One thing is to punish people for littering. In California you get $1,000 fine for littering garbage in the street.

But to ban people from eating a sandwich in the street is only a sign that there are people in City Hall with too much time on their hands.

For those who have not read the City ordinance, in those streets it is prohibited to eat anything while seating or also standing still. It is ok to eat while walking.