«The rich of the world are buying Florence», the protest and the referendum
«The rich of the world are buying Florence». With this slogan, a referendum was launched on Saturday morning in Piazza dei Ciompi to ask for a Florence less strangled by speculation that makes life complicated for those who want to experience the city. There are already hundreds of people’s signatures, convinced by this referendum launched by realities close to the Florentine left. «For years now, citizens have been witnessing a process of emptying Florence – the promoters explained – with large private entities ready to buy themselves one piece of the city at a time. The medium-term consequence is the progressive expulsion of the residence from large parts of the city and the sliding towards an exclusive city in which it will be increasingly difficult to live, work, study, even for those who have managed until now”. -Videos by Jacopo Storni /Corriere Fiorentino TV
KEEP READING ”
Many questions were asked with placards and flyers distributed to invite people to sign: “Can you still afford to live in Florence?”, “Who will be able to come to work, study and live here?”. The two referendum questions, elaborated by the lawyers Paolo Solimeno and Claudio Tamburini with the collaboration of Tommaso Grassi, ask for the abolition of two symbolic rules: the one which favors luxury student residences, allowing them to carry out hotel business for an extra period, and the one which allow properties previously used for public services to pass without urban planning to the office destination, which also includes student residences. «It is an initiative – explained Massimo Torelli, one of the promoters of the referendum – born to discuss our city in the round that allows us to activate the regulation for municipal popular consultations which, although not very participatory, is a formal tool that allows finally open a discussion on central issues.