I’m skeptical of most claims of overtourism. In some sense, the great historic attractions of civilization belong to everyone. There’s usually an ugly nativism to the claims. And locals often want tourist dollars – and only wealthier tourists – while providing as little as possible in return.
Occasionally, though, a tourist behaves so badly that it’s difficult to make this case. Now, the city of Florence gets 11 million visitors per year. There are going to be some that behave badly. But the city’s 366,000 residents will seize on those and have a pretty good argument.
A blonde, English-speaking tourist was filmed swimming topless in the fountain at Piazza Santo Spirito. Wearing only black pants, she invited bystanders to join her in the fountain.
Days earlier, another female tourist was seen simulating an… act… with a replica of Giambologna’s Bacchus statue in the Borgo San Jacopo area. The woman posed suggestively, mimicking a kiss with the bronze statue and grinding against it while a friend took photos. This is why we soon won’t be able to have nice things.
Already, local authorities have declared a “zero tolerance” policy. One elected official offered, “Are we sure we need this kind of tourists in Florence?”
I’d say don’t restrict tourism, just punish offenders, but then American tourists keep accidentally bringing bullets to Turks and Caicos. Of course they very much depend on American tourism.
Meanwhile, it’s not a good idea to bathe in these fountains for… hygiene.
Why is it always Americans! ??
Check out the Noel Coward song … Why Do The Wrong People Travel
It’s on YouTube.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Wearing black pants”. Here in Murica we call them panties.
She wasn’t bathing for hygiene purposes. She was bathing to cool down and grab eyes with her antics while doing so.
Nothing that an electric line won’t fix.
The Bacchus statue was a replica that was a couple of decades old. Even that seemed (ahem) overblown.
They have these wires on farms to keep the horses in. There is a river in the us that yes, electrically charged to keep the fish from Canada going to the United States to do the same thing with the mountains. Once you put the foot in charge. Used to call this game operations by Milton Bradley.
Narcissistic behavior is rampant these days. So-called “influencers” lead the pack.
Can’t they throw the ho in jail for a few days?
@Gary, if you read through and translate the Italian comments into English on the Instagram thread, you’ll learn that she is an Italian local tourist; it’s the pudgy blonde leaning over the fountain that is replying in English.
Maybe I would visit more fountains if they had attractive women swimming in them.
One the plus side, she’s not fat or gross.
It must be just me, but I see nothing wrong here. What’s it for if not to skinny dip in it lol
This is the result of low airfare. Back when flying to Europe was treated as a luxury, not only did it help weed out the trash, but it conditioned the traveler to take the trip more seriously. Now that a flight costs the same as Cancun, you’ll get Cancun behavior.
She’s not overweight, has no visible tattoos, and seems smiley and fun.
She’s actually a catch compared to the tatted-up whales found in the US. Hope she had a fun night.
Some people here haven’t noted that the fountain swimmer is Italian and probably could have taken a train or bus to Florence?
Bizarre antics with fountains and statues is nothing new. This kind of behavior has been going on for millennia. The differences now are that it gets captured in video and makes for clicks on the internet and the world population is several times over what it used to be two millennia ago and way more people can afford to go around for recreational purposes.
@Jimbo, as kimmlea points out, the swimmer appears to be Italian, based on the comments in Italian. The comments are interesting, mentioning the diog washing, spitting and peeing that go in there, as some commenters report. Gary said she was English speaking, but that seems to be the other person. Interesting that the other people in the video are paying no attention.
She had 3 coins in her pocket