Very interesting piece. I agree with the other comments—this is not just a problem for Naples; all major tourist destinations suffer from this issue. Italy has many, but we are not the only ones: you have to wait in line to see the sunset in Santorini, Greece (a line for a sunset!), or to visit the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, you need to book in advance, otherwise, you risk not getting in—in fact, you won’t get in because it’s sold out every day. New York has almost become purely touristic, turning into a kind of theme park, and residents are leaving. This is media-driven tourism, and I talked about it in my first piece here on Substack. As an Italian, I myself cannot stand this aggressive way of tourism (chasing Instagrammable spots) and surrendering to tourism (the loss of a place’s soul). Maybe the solution is to step away from social media, from iconic places, and discover nearby spots that are less famous but have soul.
Of course, I'm referring to the most famous sight: the sunset in Oia, in August. The place has narrow alleys, and you have to go hours earlier to avoid getting stuck in line in the streets.
I just came back from three weeks in Italy, and was shocked and horrified about the crowds in Rome — even though I’m part of the tourist problem. The swarming crowds, shoulder to shoulder, dozens deep at Trevi Fountain were anxiety-inducing. This was a Monday afternoon in late April, just the start of “tourist” season.
I have pictures from 2009 where I’m able to comfortably sit at its edge, and sure, there were tourists around, but this year was something else.
Even in smaller tourist destinations, like Assisi, we tried to visit and were turned away by police saying there was no more room for cars. We had to park at the train station at the city’s edge — a less than 5km drive that took 40 minutes. We gave up.
I’m not sure what the answer is, visiting other countries, obviously, is a good thing: it creates better understanding and appreciation of other cultures, but over-tourism is just repulsive. Hard to find a solution but at least tourist tax might go towards building (and repairing) local infrastructure?
Yes. In the “La dolce vita” a woman jumps in the trevi fountain and swims! Can’t imagine that now. I also got anxious at the fountain with the crowds and heat. I want to be a good guest in Italy and do no harm. I am learning as I go but one thing I try to do is visit in the off season or shoulder season.
I was in Naples recently and indeed the number of people was too high to enjoy anything. This description sounds like the same story as in many nice places: they are turned into holiday destinations for tourists and nothing more. Unfortunately, we cannot only blame tourists. Airbnb is taking over because locals are putting their houses on the platform. Via de toledo is crammed with fast-food places because the locals are trying to make money off of tourists. It 100% destroys the communities. But the people living in those communities are also accomplices to this destruction.
I can't see how a better description of the current situation of my city could be done.
I myself a while ago have written on my newsletter about the overtourism in Naples, how it happened and how food played a big part in it.
I'm still naive at heart, and believe that Naples still keeps its authentic vibes that a lot of other cities have lost. But I can't ignore the housing issue and the continous opening of new eateries that cater to people with money.
Plus, the transportation issue is still a big one. I'm one of those people living in the suburbs of the greater metropolitan area, and car is a necessary, but at the same time annoying requirement to travel to the centre.
Ditto for Lisbon, Portuguese people are actually not even coming back to downtown anymore. It’s just pancake places for tourists, and tourists eating pancakes.
Yes, and the Golden Visa shenanigans also didn’t help. Slowly but steadily digital nomads are fleeing: the only opportunities are shady bitcoin bsuinesses or call centers, and sources for groceries and dining out are at Paris level.
I fell in love with Italy during my stay in Salerno, while touring the Amalfi Coast daily, twenty years ago. My encounter with Naples was just a toccata e fuga, but I still remember the city’s liveliness – strikingly different from the northern cities I currently live in. I can relate to Vittoria's feeling of being observed and judged: I myself have origins in a relatively poor country in the Balkans, just now being discovered by the global tourism scene, and the comments people make when they visit can be very hurtful. I am very critical of those same aspects, but for some irrational reason, "external" criticism hurts a lot. Maybe because I feel it also as personal criticism and feel responsible for the current situation?
Yes. I am originally from Philadelphia which has a lot of poverty and crime. People want to point fingers and say, "your city is ugly!" but what they really are saying is "I don't want to look at poverty". We can't cover it up - it's there. How can visitors accept this and have more compassion for the history of a place, and what contributed to this? (In Philadelphia's case, it was systemic, institutional racism in policing, housing, and education that has contributed to poverty).
I appreciated this read so much. I’m always conscious of overtourism on my travels — it’s why I’ve avoided Italy and most of Greece — but this perspective really helped me understand the change of going from quaint city to overtouristed attraction. Really, really great read.
The more I’ve travelled over the years. The more I’ve realized how ‘Americanized’ the rest of the world is becoming. Even Eric Clapton once said each different country he’s been too lately has become a different version of America.
I visited Naples for the first time in 2008, right when the emergenza rifiuti was at its peak (which in fact is what I found on arriving as piles of uncollected trash blocked the streets) and yet not even that failed to make me see Naples as a beautifully breathtaking city. The first time ones sees the Vesubio against a blue sky is quite something. I had lived in Italy (in the North) and traveled quite extensively before visiting Naples, but to this day nothing surpasses the emotion Naples provokes in me every time I've visited. Perhaps because I'm from Spain and there are strong cultural links, perhaps because I've somehow lived with people from Campania for the best part of the last 15 years, but there's just something magical about Naples. And it's true that while it was very chaotic it remained for the most part undisturbed by mass tourism. The last time I was there in November 2017 I noticed the centre was slightly more gentrified and taken cared of, but I imagine a lot has changed since then. Unfortunately one a destination becomes popular for tourists it ends up being doomed and impacting the locals negatively. I was back home recently and the news only talked about how mass tourism in Spain is making it impossible for seasonal workers to find accommodation, to the point many sleep in auto caravans in places like the Canary Islands or the Balearic islands as all flats are rented out to tourists. Another city in the Balearic islands has decided to limit access from 9 am until 8 pm (I can't remember correctly) as it was overcrowded and life for residents was virtually impossible during the period from June until September.
The big problem of the countries of southern Europe, thinking that tourism is their "oil". Bad salaries and zero opportunities for improvement... And of course the high cost of rent, the destruction of the community.
Fascinating stuff, some of the same sentiments about Napoli I read from Elena Ferrante... in many ways though, I'm sure her depictions of the city have helped lead to the increase in tourism. It certainly made me want to visit (never been). Forza Napoli.
Exactly, she has brought a renewed interest in visiting. There is even "Elena Ferrante Tourism" where you can visit the neighborhoods she writes about! Thanks for reading!
Very interesting piece. I agree with the other comments—this is not just a problem for Naples; all major tourist destinations suffer from this issue. Italy has many, but we are not the only ones: you have to wait in line to see the sunset in Santorini, Greece (a line for a sunset!), or to visit the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, you need to book in advance, otherwise, you risk not getting in—in fact, you won’t get in because it’s sold out every day. New York has almost become purely touristic, turning into a kind of theme park, and residents are leaving. This is media-driven tourism, and I talked about it in my first piece here on Substack. As an Italian, I myself cannot stand this aggressive way of tourism (chasing Instagrammable spots) and surrendering to tourism (the loss of a place’s soul). Maybe the solution is to step away from social media, from iconic places, and discover nearby spots that are less famous but have soul.
That’s what I try to do. Living in Italy has really opened my eyes to the impact of overtourism.
Stay in line to watch the sunset. That says it all
Of course, I'm referring to the most famous sight: the sunset in Oia, in August. The place has narrow alleys, and you have to go hours earlier to avoid getting stuck in line in the streets.
It's still a great metaphor :-)
This really hits.
I just came back from three weeks in Italy, and was shocked and horrified about the crowds in Rome — even though I’m part of the tourist problem. The swarming crowds, shoulder to shoulder, dozens deep at Trevi Fountain were anxiety-inducing. This was a Monday afternoon in late April, just the start of “tourist” season.
I have pictures from 2009 where I’m able to comfortably sit at its edge, and sure, there were tourists around, but this year was something else.
Even in smaller tourist destinations, like Assisi, we tried to visit and were turned away by police saying there was no more room for cars. We had to park at the train station at the city’s edge — a less than 5km drive that took 40 minutes. We gave up.
I’m not sure what the answer is, visiting other countries, obviously, is a good thing: it creates better understanding and appreciation of other cultures, but over-tourism is just repulsive. Hard to find a solution but at least tourist tax might go towards building (and repairing) local infrastructure?
Yes. In the “La dolce vita” a woman jumps in the trevi fountain and swims! Can’t imagine that now. I also got anxious at the fountain with the crowds and heat. I want to be a good guest in Italy and do no harm. I am learning as I go but one thing I try to do is visit in the off season or shoulder season.
I was in Naples recently and indeed the number of people was too high to enjoy anything. This description sounds like the same story as in many nice places: they are turned into holiday destinations for tourists and nothing more. Unfortunately, we cannot only blame tourists. Airbnb is taking over because locals are putting their houses on the platform. Via de toledo is crammed with fast-food places because the locals are trying to make money off of tourists. It 100% destroys the communities. But the people living in those communities are also accomplices to this destruction.
I can't see how a better description of the current situation of my city could be done.
I myself a while ago have written on my newsletter about the overtourism in Naples, how it happened and how food played a big part in it.
I'm still naive at heart, and believe that Naples still keeps its authentic vibes that a lot of other cities have lost. But I can't ignore the housing issue and the continous opening of new eateries that cater to people with money.
Plus, the transportation issue is still a big one. I'm one of those people living in the suburbs of the greater metropolitan area, and car is a necessary, but at the same time annoying requirement to travel to the centre.
Still hoping for a better future.
Ditto for Lisbon, Portuguese people are actually not even coming back to downtown anymore. It’s just pancake places for tourists, and tourists eating pancakes.
Lisbon was also promoted a lot as a digital nomad destination with visas and everything. I guess that must have made a difference as well.
Yes, and the Golden Visa shenanigans also didn’t help. Slowly but steadily digital nomads are fleeing: the only opportunities are shady bitcoin bsuinesses or call centers, and sources for groceries and dining out are at Paris level.
I fell in love with Italy during my stay in Salerno, while touring the Amalfi Coast daily, twenty years ago. My encounter with Naples was just a toccata e fuga, but I still remember the city’s liveliness – strikingly different from the northern cities I currently live in. I can relate to Vittoria's feeling of being observed and judged: I myself have origins in a relatively poor country in the Balkans, just now being discovered by the global tourism scene, and the comments people make when they visit can be very hurtful. I am very critical of those same aspects, but for some irrational reason, "external" criticism hurts a lot. Maybe because I feel it also as personal criticism and feel responsible for the current situation?
Yes. I am originally from Philadelphia which has a lot of poverty and crime. People want to point fingers and say, "your city is ugly!" but what they really are saying is "I don't want to look at poverty". We can't cover it up - it's there. How can visitors accept this and have more compassion for the history of a place, and what contributed to this? (In Philadelphia's case, it was systemic, institutional racism in policing, housing, and education that has contributed to poverty).
I appreciated this read so much. I’m always conscious of overtourism on my travels — it’s why I’ve avoided Italy and most of Greece — but this perspective really helped me understand the change of going from quaint city to overtouristed attraction. Really, really great read.
This hits home.
The more I’ve travelled over the years. The more I’ve realized how ‘Americanized’ the rest of the world is becoming. Even Eric Clapton once said each different country he’s been too lately has become a different version of America.
Have you heard of this concept of “air space”? I feel Napoli is one of the last few big cities that defies assimilation in that sense.
https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/3/12325104/airbnb-aesthetic-global-minimalism-startup-gentrification
Never knew how technology was spreading this fire of homogeneity. Thank You for sharing...!
I visited Naples for the first time in 2008, right when the emergenza rifiuti was at its peak (which in fact is what I found on arriving as piles of uncollected trash blocked the streets) and yet not even that failed to make me see Naples as a beautifully breathtaking city. The first time ones sees the Vesubio against a blue sky is quite something. I had lived in Italy (in the North) and traveled quite extensively before visiting Naples, but to this day nothing surpasses the emotion Naples provokes in me every time I've visited. Perhaps because I'm from Spain and there are strong cultural links, perhaps because I've somehow lived with people from Campania for the best part of the last 15 years, but there's just something magical about Naples. And it's true that while it was very chaotic it remained for the most part undisturbed by mass tourism. The last time I was there in November 2017 I noticed the centre was slightly more gentrified and taken cared of, but I imagine a lot has changed since then. Unfortunately one a destination becomes popular for tourists it ends up being doomed and impacting the locals negatively. I was back home recently and the news only talked about how mass tourism in Spain is making it impossible for seasonal workers to find accommodation, to the point many sleep in auto caravans in places like the Canary Islands or the Balearic islands as all flats are rented out to tourists. Another city in the Balearic islands has decided to limit access from 9 am until 8 pm (I can't remember correctly) as it was overcrowded and life for residents was virtually impossible during the period from June until September.
Thanks for sharing Cristina. I’m glad you appreciate the beauty of Napoli. Sorry to hear about how overtourism is affecting Spain as well.
Thank you for this post. It's sad and important.
I really enjoyed Vittoria's story, thanks for having her!
The big problem of the countries of southern Europe, thinking that tourism is their "oil". Bad salaries and zero opportunities for improvement... And of course the high cost of rent, the destruction of the community.
Thank you for this insider’s perspective.
Fascinating stuff, some of the same sentiments about Napoli I read from Elena Ferrante... in many ways though, I'm sure her depictions of the city have helped lead to the increase in tourism. It certainly made me want to visit (never been). Forza Napoli.
Exactly, she has brought a renewed interest in visiting. There is even "Elena Ferrante Tourism" where you can visit the neighborhoods she writes about! Thanks for reading!
I enjoy reading your pieces about Italy, thanks for sharing 😊