A plan by McDonald’s to open a branch in Florence’s Piazza del Duomo, opposite its famed Renaissance cathedral, has stirred Florentines into petitions, demonstrations, and even an ironic parody of the city’s famous David statue by Michelangelo.
Although McDonald’s has three outlets elsewhere in the city, this one, at a UNESCO World Heritage site has drawn over 12,000 Facebook protests, 2000 petition signatures, a flash mob demonstration and the support of Mayor Dario Nardella.
The owners of the Facebook page say they want to make their point “peacefully and with irony, because we are Florentines.” As a sample of their irony, the ad for the flash mob contains the statue parody:
Of course, it’s not Italy’s first fast-food controversy; there’s a history going back to the first McD’s at Rome’s Spanish Steps in the 1980s, and includes protests against Domino’s, Starbucks and other chains. For more, from TheLocal.it, click HERE
Well done to the people of Florence. I am sure McDonalds can find a location nearby without taking away from a UNESCO site.