The second-floor apartment of Italian artist and author Chiara Rapaccini faces what used to be a tranquil street in the heart of Monti, a bewitching little quarter near the Roman Forum and Colosseum that has existed since ancient times and, until about 15 years ago, felt as serene as a Tuscan village.Ms. Rapaccini’s cobblestone street buzzes all day and night with tourists stumbling in and out of bars, shabby restaurants that cater to visitors, not locals, and Airbnbs.
fear that their beloved city is turning into the next Venice. By that they mean a centre overwhelmed with tourists and Airbnbs that are pushing out the locals and the shops and services that they depend on for quotidian life. Romans need hardware stores, dry cleaners and butchers; they don’t need more pubs, cheap pizzerias and ice-cream shops – or neighbours who are complete strangers. “As Romans leave, there are fewer and fewer people left to defend their neighbourhoods,” Ms. Mogavero said.
More than any other factor, the short-term rental phenomenon – Airbnb is the biggest but not the only such service – is ripping the fabric of the city, all the more so now that tourism is back to its prepandemic levels. The Pantheon alone is getting 35,000 to 40,000 visitors a day, according to its security guards.
for the historic centre of Rome – she lives in Monti – has been fighting the degradation of her neighbourhood for years. She has fought the new liquor licences that allow businesses that normally don’t sell booze, such as art galleries, to do so. Her pitch for laws that would slow or stop the proliferation of Airbnbs has so far gone unheeded, though she is picking up political allies. “Italy has no brakes for short-term rentals,” she said. “It’s all about making money.
They chose mass tourism of the kind that allowed thousands of apartments to be offered to short-term visitors – and opened the market for thousands more.
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