the majority of visitors are n't restaurants .
others pointed out that in the current 30c heat , picnickers might not mind dario nardella to discourage people from ‘ camping out ’ by hosing down steps of basilica of santa croce and other sites the mayor of florence has told tourists they will “ get wet ” if they settle down for lunch on the steps of some of the city ’s prized churches as he is turning to hosepipes to restore “ decorum ” among visitors to the renaissance city .
 
the first places to get the treatment were the areas by the basilica of santa croce and santo spirito church .
the steps of the basilica of santa croce , the burial place of michelangelo , will be the first to be hosed down , taking place at about lunchtime , in order to stop visitors from eating on them , followed by the chiesa di santo spirito .
dario nardella , the mayor , has had enough and has decided from today to deploy council workers armed with high - pressure hoses around the city centre .
with few public benches in the city centre , visitors sprawl wherever they can find space , munching panini and licking ice creams on street kerbs and the steps of imposing basilicas such as santo spirito and santa croce .
” the streets of the city ’s historic centre , a fed up with hordes of tourists snacking on the steps of renaissance churches and lounging in the streets , the mayor of florence has come up with a radical approach — hose down the surfaces so they are too wet to sit on .
we know that they are a great resource for our city , ” the mayor , dario nardella , told the guardian .