Florence is a city well known for its breathtaking collections of art and architecture: a real permanent European capital of culture. This month the city is host to the cream of the international meetings industry, the 48th ICCA Congress and Exhibition.
The Italian Renaissance began in the city which is, today, one big open air museum. The historical district is near the main conference area, and provides a lively backdrop of stately Renaissance palaces, churches and picturesque piazzas. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Florence is in the centre of Italy, in the heart of Tuscany, and served by frequent direct flights from major European cities, and boasts intercontinental connections. Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci Airport is five kilometres from the city centre, while Pisa’s Galileo Galilei Airport (90km from Florence) connects to central Florence by a shuttle train.
Florentine hospitality is spread across 360 hotels, which offer over 11,500 rooms, accommodating more than 20,000 guests. Many of these hotels are housed in ancient patrician homes and guests will find their rooms are often furnished with fine fabrics and antiques.
The convention bureau (FCB) is the glue that brings together the meetings industry’s public and private sector players in the city. It is a recommended first stop for international organisers to tap into FCB experience, as well as that of its 50-plus partners.
The capital of Tuscany has become more accessible thanks to new high speed rail links, bringing Florence ‘closer’ to Europe, and greatly reducing the time needed to reach it from other cities in Italy.
Rail is even more important in a city like Florence, which has an airport abeit one that is not really a hub. The link will bring challenges, too, at least in the leisure segment: it will bring many cities, now far from each other, in to direct competition, and this means that to keep up average hotel occupancy Florence will always have to be in the van of top-quality services.
Congress facilities
For large events looking to accommodate in Florence, the bureau recommends larger venues to consider could be:
The Congress Citadel
This is an area composed of three venues, five minutes’ walk from the city centre: The Fortezza da Basso, built by Antonio da Sangallo the Young between 1533 and 1535, is capable of hosting 10,000 visitors and, by using modular conference rooms, up to 3,500 delegates can be seated in the theatre.
Palaffari, meanwhile, has conference rooms accommodating from 50 to 500 and meeting rooms (15-50). The third Citadel venue, the Congress Palace, located in Villa Vittoria, built between 1880 and 1914, has a main auditorium capable of seating 1,800, with 13 meeting rooms.
Stazione Leopolda is a valued piece of industrial architectural heritage. Leopolda was a real railway station, built in 1848, and located at Porta al Prato, less than a kilometre from the centre of Florence. In the 19th century it was used for the first Italian National Exposition which drew over 6,000 exhibitors. In 1993 the Stazione Leopolda was transformed into a modern venue specialising in fashion promotion and cultural events.
More architectural heritage is available to organisers at Villa La Pietra, a 15th century venue just outside Florence. Part of a 57-acre estate, it is home to the New York University in Florence.
“>Hotel Convitto della Calza is even older, set inside a 14th-century building, with seven meeting rooms able to accommodate from 20 to 400. It has carved out quite a reputation for its catering and restaurant.
The Istituto degli Innocenti has been working for nearly six centuries on behalf of charity for the family and children and within its buildings are Renaissance premises used also for conferencing. The building is near the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a beautiful space dominated by the SS.Annunziata Church. It is also close to Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Marco, two of the main artistic sites of the city where the great part of public bus-routes (ATAF) transit.
In June construction began on the new Palazzo della Musica. Financed by both the Italian Culture Ministry and the Municipality of Florence, it will have 4,000 seats, when it opens for meetings and events in 2011.
Major city hotels where capacity for conferences exceeds 400 seats include:
Grand Hotel Mediterraneo, Hilton Metropole and Sheraton Florence.
Sales and marketing manager at the Florence convention bureau, Diana Cora Tenderini, explains a recent initiative by a local institutional task force to support the meetings and events industry in the city.
The initiative covers consultancy for sponsorship, fund raising and corporate offers. The plan is to increase free-of-charge services during important congresses and special events.
“We firmly believe that no venue can compete just for itself and that the interest of each congress is actually the interest of the entire city meeting industry,” says Tenderini.
Tenderini says the synergy is already proving highly effective despite the current crisis and “definitely aligns the Florentine MICE segment to the level of our major international competitors”.
PCO viewpoints
CMW put some questions to senior partner at Florence organiser Enic Meeting and Events, Maria Cristina Dalla Villa.
What advantages does Florence have over other Italian destinations in terms of its events facilities and attractiveness to international organisers?
Florence is very well known internationally as a city of art, so we can present to potential clients based on this widespread fame of the city. Unfortunately we cannot always present comparable congress facilities.
Are conferences and events a growing business for Florence?
No. I can’t say whether it is because of the worldwide crisis, or because of the strong competition from other destinations. Art and monuments are important, but when you come to international conferences you have to sell clients what they need and not what you have.
What are the main points to overcome/resolve when international clients look at the city. Is it perceived as being expensive?
Yes, maybe. But clients are in search of value for money. If you have the right product, they can also be ready to pay a little more, based on the attractiveness of the destination.
There are several reconstruction projects at city venues, but how has the economic recession affected your business?
The city is undergoing a deep structural change. Already this month (November 2009) the area around the Duomo will be completely closed to traffic. It took years to reach this decision and there is a new tramway under construction, which should relieve the traffic from the city centre. High-speed trains linking to Milan and Rome are already running and they guarantee a very speedy and comfortable connection with the main hubs of our country. A new auditorium construction has been announced and should be completed within four years. This is really important for the city’s cultural and meeting activities.
Pathology project
International conference organiser OIC played a major role in putting on the 22nd European Congress of Pathology in Florence, 4-9 September 2009.
Project manager Viviana Vitali believes Florence has always been one of the cities that everyone would like to visit at least once in his life.
For the 22nd ECP, a selection of hotels in the historic city centre was offered to delegates. Vitali says the fact that they were only walking distance from the Fortezza da Basso Congress Centre venue proved a popular decision.
The Fortezza da Basso represents, together with Congress Centre and Affari Centre, the major conference venues of the city and a congress citadel, all forms of the latest technical equipments and located right to the main railway station and close to the historic city centre.
“The fact that delegates can move from their work setting to the majestic architecture of Piazza della Signoria is priceless,” says Vitali.
OIC arranged a series of sightseeing and social activities in unique locations for both delegates and accompanying persons. “The variety of proposals is so wide in Florence that it can be adjusted to any budget,” Vitali stresses.
The ECP congress social programme featured a concert in the S.Lorenzo Basilica, which contains masterpieces of the major painters and sculptors of the Renaissance period, as well as a farewell party in the S.S. Annunziata Square.
“The 22nd ECP Congress was a success, with a good mix of science, culture and organisation, as testified by the numerous letters of appreciation received by the Organising Committee and by the Organising Secretariat OIC,” she says.
