This Way Of Eating Isn't Just Considered Rude In Italy, In Some Places It's Illegal

Italy, oh my! There is a reason why Europe's enchanting, boot-shaped peninsula is one of the world's top tourist draws. After all, it's a cultural treasure trove, with jaw-dropping architecture, historic ruins, scenic hillside villages, art, and music, along with a countryside so bucolic that you may never want to leave.

However, despite this array of charms, Italy's food arguably may be the nation's most attractive asset. From pizza to pasta to paninis to wonderful regional seafood dishes, Italian cuisine has earned its place as one of the world's greatest. Plenty of people come mainly to experience this rich, storied cuisine, along with the amazing wine that can be sampled in these bucket-list cities for oenophiles.

Food is life in Italy. The whole culture is centered around eating, which also means Italians take their cuisine very seriously. This has resulted in some rules and traditions that you should familiarize yourself with before setting off on your Italian sojourn, such as not expecting butter or olive oil with your bread, ditching the spoon while eating pasta, and — at least in the city of Florence — avoiding eating in the street. This could do more than just earn you dirty looks in Italy's northern cultural capital: You could be slapped with a hefty fine.

Florence — with its beautiful churches, museums, and universities — is known as the birthplace of the Renaissance. Still, this otherwise gorgeous city has been struggling with the negative effects that come with opening the doors to too many visitors, such as overcrowding, noise, and litter. This phenomenon, of course, is hardly unique to Italy. It's an issue throughout Europe and has gotten so bad in places like Barcelona that some locals have responded by spraying visitors with water guns. While Florence has managed to avoid such radical measures, the city has enacted a law that bans eating on four streets that make up its UNESCO World Heritage city center. 

Much of this is due to a single panini street food shop called All'Antico Vinaio, which has gotten so popular that tourists have jammed up the local sidewalks, curbs, stairs, and entryways scarfing down the delectable sandwiches. This has led to conflicts with residents, and the city responded with an ordinance that threatens fines of 150 to 500 euros (156 to 520 dollars) for those found violating the law.

Florence isn't the only place in Italy actively attempting to reduce the ills associated with overtourism. Venice has introduced a 5 euro entrance fee for visitors, Rome has prohibited sitting on its iconic Spanish Steps, while the island of Capri has banned non-residents from bringing in cars during the peak summer season.

Not satisfied to just regulate visitors' somewhat gauche eating habits in the streets, Florence has also decided to tackle the havoc that short-term tourist rentals have wrought on the local housing market by banning them outright, at least in the city center. This means that if you want to book an Airbnb during your stay in Florence, you'll have to do it far away from iconic attractions such as the Duomo or Piazzale Michelangelo.

The reasoning behind this is simple: There is a chronic shortage of housing for the people who actually live there. Short term rentals such as Airbnb have taken over much of the city center, effectively shutting out local residents. This isn't a problem unique to Florence. It's also affected access to housing in high-tourism cities across the globe, causing some places like Florence, Barcelona, and New York to attempt to put a stop to the problem.

Will such measures — whether regulating the housing market or banning eating outdoors — actually dull the negative effects of overtourism? This remains to be seen. Just know that the legal landscape is constantly shifting. This means that the best way to avoid the hassle of too many tourists and the prohibitions that come with them is to get off the beaten path, such as hitting these underrated destinations the next time you head out on an Italian vacation.