Italy is on the cusp of marking one of its busiest periods on record as it celebrates its Jubilee year – but a new rule to save a ‘dying’ city from overtourism is proving controversial.
Florence, a Renaissance city in the heart of Tuscany, is grappling with an overwhelming number of tourists.
In 2024, 364,073 people called the city home, and yet each year, around 11 million flock to experience its famous food, history and culture.
Now, many locals have seemingly had enough. The city council has announced that Florence will ban self-check-in keyboxes typically used by short-term holiday lets such as Airbnb, which act as a buffer between a host and their travelling guests.
Last week, the Mayor of Florence, Sara Furano, confirmed that the council will remove any key boxes still glued to buildings, with fines of up to €400 (£331.55) issued to those failing to comply.
This isn’t the first measure Florence has taken to ease the impact short-term lets have had on the city.
In 2023, officials banned new short-term residential lets from opening in its historic centre in an attempt to free up space for locals to live.
‘In 2016, we had just under 6,000 apartments listed on Airbnb; today we have almost 14,378,’ Florence’s then-mayor, Dario Nardella, said at the time.
‘The 40,000 Florentines who live in the centre are complaining about finding themselves, all of a sudden, living in apartment hotels.’
Why is Florence banning self-check-in keyboxes?
The ‘Robin Hood’ band of anti-lockbox activists
In 2024, a gang of activists known as the ‘Robin Hood band’ attacked a host of properties across Italy as part of a controversial protest against the spread of short-term rentals.
The vigilante group, which takes its name from the legendary figure who stole from the rich to give to the poor, argues that platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo are destroying the foundations of local communities. They say these platforms are deepening Italy’s housing crisis by pushing up rents and forcing residents out in favour of visitors.
In November 2024, protestors hit the streets with stickers reading ‘Let’s save Florence so we can live in it’.
The demonstrations have hit the northern city of Bologna in recent months, where the window of the tourist office on Via Guerrazzi was scrawled with the words: ‘Stop Airbnb! Robin Hood.’
Likewise, in January, a poster was also found on a gate near the Colosseum in Rome. According to Bologna Today, the letter read: ‘The padlocks that we sabotage are nothing more than one of the symptoms of a tourism business that has degenerated on all fronts.’
How do locals feel about overtourism?
It’s no secret that Florentines are divided about the impact tourism – more specifically, overtourism – has had on the city.
‘I am born in Florence, living in the countryside and have been working in the city centre for more than a decade,’ @lormayna wrote in the r/Florence thread on Reddit.
‘I am not against tourism, I am against overtourism. Tourism in Florence should be regulated: no AirBnb, no sh**** stores, put some rules to close the tourist traps, etc.’
The move to ban self-check-in boxes is designed to combat this, and, in the view of the local government, could help to ease pressure on the city.
As Massimo Torelli, spokesperson for the ‘Let’s Save Florence To Live In It’ campaign attests, the check-in boxes are ‘everywhere, on the bicycle racks and on the street-light poles.’
In his view, Florence is ‘dying of uncontrolled tourism,’ and he hopes that the new rule will see the number of short-stay flats decrease from 15,000 to between 7,000 and 8,000.
Overtourism, or less ‘eat and run’ tourism?
But not everyone agrees that the move will be beneficial. Italy’s tourism minister Daniela Santache previously argued that overtourism was the result of mismanagement more than anything else.
‘I cannot agree with this word, overtourism, however, I understand that we have territories where there are too many people,’ she said in November ahead of the G7 summit.
‘But the question we have to ask ourselves is this: haven’t we destroyed the commerce that made our historic centres come alive for the communities in those areas as well? If instead of opening convenience stores we had kept our stores and encouraged our excellences, maybe we would have less “eat and run” tourism, which is what gives us little.
‘It’s an economic law: to help the bottom you have to grow the top.’
Elsewhere, as James Austin, director of organisation development at travel management company Access Bookings tells Metro, the move could have a detrimental effect on the travel industry.
The impact of overtourism in Italy
Florence isn’t the only Italian destination grappling with the impact of overtourism.
Italy in its entirety has welcomed an increasing number of visitors in recent years, with Rome experiencing the highest growth in foreign arrivals in 2024, with 5% more visitors than 2023.
And in 2025, as Rome and the Vatican City hosts its Jubilee or ‘Holy Year’ complete with a series of celebrations, yet more visitors are set to flock to the capital – to the tune of an estimated 35 million.
Likewise, in 2024, Venice introduced a ‘tourist tax’ requiring short-stay visitors to pay a €5 entrance fee.
At the time, Simone Venturini, the city councillor responsible for tourism and social cohesion, said the system would help find ‘a new balance’ between residents and day-trippers.
‘It’s good news for the hotel sector, as it will push more visitors towards traditional accommodation, where check-ins are staffed, and regulations are that bit tighter,’ James says.
‘However, it could also pose challenges for the hard-working and legitimate short-term rentals that operate responsibly, particularly for business travellers or late-night arrivals who rely on flexible access on their own terms.
‘For our clients in particular, Florence has long been a popular destination for TV and film crews, who sometimes require flexible, short-term accommodation options when working on location and we always ensure we research the best and most flexible options to ensure that cities like Florence appeal as a filming hub.’
Overtourism or a struggling housing market?
Meanwhile, in Florence resident @tomatoflee’s view, it’s not necessarily tourism (or overtourism) that is the issue. Tourism may be getting the blame, but he believes a troubled housing market is the real problem.
‘You can’t walk 100 metres without bumping into some world-class cultural treasure so it’s understandable that a lot of people flock there,’ he said on TikTok. ‘Sometimes though, everywhere is so rammed that it diminishes the experience for everyone.’
‘The debate is heated by the fact that are Europe-wide economic issues affecting primarily young people and those without huge amounts of money. If you are struggling to find an affordable place to live, for example, it’s easy and somewhat understandable to point the finger at tourism, whether that is fair or not.’
This viewpoint is shared by travel expert Paul Fournier. He tells Metro that Florence has been struggling as short-term rentals overtake residential spaces, making it increasingly difficult to access affordable housing.
‘Tourists, especially those booking Airbnb-style stays, are contributing to this shift, but they’re not the root problem — property owners and investment buyers converting homes into full-time rentals are,’ says Paul.
‘The city centre was once full of residents. Now it’s turned into a revolving door of tourists. Over the years, I’ve seen how local shops have been replaced by businesses catering solely to visitors.
‘A lot of traditional bakeries, grocery stores, and butchers have shut down because fewer locals actually live in the centre. That’s the real problem.
‘Banning lockboxes won’t fix this on its own, but it’s a signal that the city wants to regain some control.’
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