Europa Nostra has come together with its founding member organisation Italia Nostra to express theirfirm opposition to the construction of a tram line through the very heart of the historic centre of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. They call on the Florence and Italian authorities, as well as those of the EU institutions, the Council of Europe and UNESCO, to save the historic centre of Florence from this intrusive tram line.

During their simultaneous Press Conference in Rome and The Hague on 5 February, Mr Giovanni Losavio, President of Italia Nostra, Mr Antonello Alici, Secretary General of Italia Nostra, Mrs Rossana Bettinelli, Vice-President of Italia Nostra and Europa Nostra Council Member, and Mrs Sneska Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Europa Nostra's Secretary General, insisted that the Italian legislation governing the protection of artistic, historic and environmental heritage be respected, and that the special obligations inherent to the management of a World Heritage Site such as Florence be met. They urged that:

• the tram line not penetrate through the historic heart of Florence, which deserves to be rendered wholly pedestrian, while
  
• the network of electric and environmentally friendly minibuses already in use in the historic centre be maintained, with connections to external tram lines which will circumnavigate the historic centre of the city.
  

Europa Nostra and Italia Nostra also believe that the case of Florence has an emblematic importance and calls for a Europe-wide discussion on the best practices concerning mobility schemes for Europe’s historic cities.

The Municipality of Florence is planning for a major tram line to run through the narrow streets and delicate historic fabric of the heart of the city, including passing through the Piazza del Duomo alongside the Baptistery, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) and the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. While recognising the need for the authorities to invest in an environmentally friendly public transportation system which would include the construction of one or more tram lines, Europa Nostra and Italia Nostra are of the opinion that any mode of transportation provided must besensitive to the fabric of the historical environment. The proposed tram, 32m long and passing every couple of minutes, will be a source of dangerous impacttowards the surrounding buildings and, at the very least, of annoyance to the pedestrians in the tight historic public spaces. The right balance must be found between keeping historic cities viable, adapting them to better answer to the needs of the 21 st century, while ensuring the best possible safeguard of their invaluable historic and artistic heritage.

The protest campaign, started by citizens of Florence, is now gaining a new momentum with the nation-wide campaign launched by Italia Nostra and supported by FAI (Fondo per l’ambiente italiano), other Italian heritage organisations active on both local and national levels, and more than 200 Italian personalities in the world of heritage, culture, tourism and business. The protest is open for signature by citizens from beyond the frontiers of Italy by sending an email to info@italianostra.org with your name, address and the name of the campaign.

For more information, please contact:

Laurie Neale
Communications Officer, co [a] europanostra.org, +31 70 302 40 55

Eléonore de Merode
Policy/Heritage at Risk, policy [a] europanostra.org, +31 70 302 40 52