The street that tech built

The Italian city of Florence is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. But are new technologies and hyper-tourism changing it forever?

Writer Kamin Mohammadi tells the story of how one road – the Via Di San Niccolo – has changed. Kamin lived there when she first moved to the city 16 years ago, and she has seen the changes first-hand. She speaks to friends who still live on the street, and business owners who have experienced the changes, about whether the character of the city has been forever altered.

But Kamin’s story, like many she knows in Florence, is complicated. The book she wrote about the city’s lifestyle encouraged many of her readers to travel there and experience it for themselves. Many others, from bar owners to cookery writers, similarly depend on tourism. She asks all of them what the city can do to retain the character that residents – and tourists – love.

Image: The skyline of Florence (Credit: Jeff Overs/BBC)