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 resid…