Who is Italy for?

As tourist numbers soar and residents vanish, the soul of the country is at stake

“Oh, che peccato,” someone will say -- “What a shame.” Then comes the head shaking over the latest once-reliable trattoria to have become a caricature of itself.

In Italy’s most visited cities -- Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Naples -- a good location can be a gilded curse. As costs rise and locals move out, the temptation to abandon the remaining residents and cater to less discerning tourists becomes almost irresistible. One by one, the classic family-run eateries disappear.

I first saw the trend unfold at Rome’s famous Ristorante Alfredo alla Scrofa, the birthplace of Fettuccine Alfredo¹.

When I worked in U.S. restaurant kitchens, various Americanized versions of the dish -- Chicken Alfredo, Shrimp Alfredo, Four-Cheese Alfredo, Cajun Alfredo, Lemon Alfredo -- were staples. For some, they even passed for haute cuisine. I could prepare them with my eyes closed.

A proud Alfredo Di Lelio -- well before mass tourism -- at the 1914 opening of his eponymous Rome restaurant (Wikimedia photo)

Ristorante Alfredo alla Scrofa was once a landmark of Dolce Vita Rome. Its walls still flaunt photos of Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Dean Martin, Federico Fellini, Ella Fitzgerald, Brigitte Bardot, Charlton Heston -- even Gabriele D’Annunzio -- most of them posing with a plate of the restaurant’s signature dish. But today, it’s the knd of place locals warn you about: over-priced, theatrical, a fossil preserved in tourist amber.

I ignored the warnings and ate there once. The waiter’s canned patter included telling me I looked like Sinatra as he stirred the fettuccine, butter, and cheese tableside. My secondo took so long to arrive that I was no longer hungry. Then came the sticker shock of the bill. I still cringe at the memory of that night.

Since then, the list of once-inviting places I avoid, not just in Rome, but in every major city, grows every time the subject comes up among long-time residents, whether Italian or foreign.