Soggy Bottoms in Florence?

Hmm

We were in Florence in December. I'm sure it's nothing like the peak season, but we didn't see tourists sitting on the steps of churches or other sites. What we did see in both Florence and Italy were gypsy beggars camped out on the steps right at the entrance. Sometimes it was hard to get around them. I'm wondering if it is more PC to say "tourists" instead of "beggars", but the true intent is to do something about the beggars.

In March, the steps of the Duomo were constantly packed with sitting people, occasionally to the point where it was difficult to get by. I also often noticed large numbers of people sitting on the steps of San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito, although they were less crowded and appeared to be more a mix of locals and tourists. IMO, the Duomo steps are a problem but the others felt more like piazzas being used as intended. On the narrow Renaissance streets, sounds like it will be up to shop owners to decide whether to wet and cleanse the street in and around their shops. In the heat of a Florence summer, I'm guessing the stone steps and pavements will dry quickly, so it might not be as much of a deterrent as it sounds.

Any time I see a lot of people kind of milling and blocking a passage, my childhood instincts from growing up in Pre-Giuliani New York City kick in, and I worry about pickpockets. I don't want to suggest that Roma or other apparent homeless are all engaged in this type of activity, but it's worthy of concern and avoidance. At least for big city me.

Well considering the good feedback and observations, I guess it just Depends.

Excellent reason to limit your time in Florence and explore other areas. I think Florence is way overrated, personally.

jr I get it.

Crowds are going to force the hand of the municipality to build a better mouse trap....so bring a plastic bag and have a seat!

This is not something to be concerned with on a vacation....if you need to sit, find a nice cool cafe.

Enjoy and get out of the cities if you can!

It will be nice if the pigeon poop gets washed more frequently. Public seating certainly is limited, with the more "decorous" option being café and restaurant seating.

Excellent reason to limit your time in Florence and explore other
areas. I think Florence is way overrated, personally.

Whoa. We LOVED Florence. We're going to spend another week there.

And it isn't proper to hang out - and especially eat on - church steps anywhere at all in Italy. They don't really like that. I'm pleased that Firenze is making an effort to keep them clean!

It will be nice if the pigeon poop gets washed more frequently

Yep. Please NO NOT FEED the pigeons anywhere at all in Italy, and please dispose of garbage appropriately. Pigeon poo is caustic and terribly damaging to buildings and sculptures so starving them out is one method of trying to get rid of them. There are more antiquities than $$ in Italy to manage the pigeon poo, air pollution, wear-and-tear from many thousands of tourists. etc. so any little bit helps!

Yep. Big news today on Florence daily newspaper La Nazione.

The Mayor, doesn't like tourists picnicking while sitting in front of churches.

Since the Mayor, doesn't seem to have have enough work at Palazzo Vecchio (the City Hall), he decided to spend his day (and the taxpayers' money) harassing them so he soaked them.

Unfortunately for him, it's hot in Florence these days, so 5 minutes later the water evaporated and everybody was sitting on the same stairs eating their pizza just like before. Solution? They'll soak them twice at Noon and shortly thereafter.

So if you visit Florence, make sure you time your picnic, unless you don't mind being cooled off a bit (which is not a bad idea these days since temperatures are already approaching the 90's).

I think Florence is way overrated, personally.

9 million visitors a year think otherwise.

Make that nine million and two.
We were in Firenze in mid-May, and we DID sit on the San Lorenzo steps as a rest stop between sites. Wonderful city!!

we DID sit on the San Lorenzo steps as a rest stop between sites.

Yep, because that one is right on a big piazza, it tends to invite sitters. The problem we saw there was that a lot of the "sitters" were the illegal knock-off (e.g. brand-name purses) sellers. They were using it as a hang-out while the polizia were cruising around looking for hawkers of illegal stuff. After the authorities moved on, they'd be right back on the street with their wares.

As they've since moved the outdoor market away from that piazza, I don't know if that is still the case.