Cortona is a small town. Fewer than 1000 people live within the ancient walls of the city. As with many old Italian towns, it is dependent on tourism for its livelihood. Typically, this winter-into-spring season is fairly quiet here, but as February spills into March – a day late in this leap year – the Cortonese are all quaking in their boots.
Cancellations in all the local hotels and apartments are way up and folks are worried that the whole season is a bust. Massimo at Caffè Tuscher was saying that he may have to close – others are in the same boat; with no tourists and few locals, just turning the lights on has them operating at a loss.
I saw that Paolo at Trattoria Dardano is doing a big renovation (and I think expansion?) of the restaurant’s interior; I hope things even out enough that he doesn’t regret making that investment.
Yesterday, I spoke with my friend Giuliano from Florence, where he and his brother Danille run a driving company, squiring tourists around in vans and sedans. We often use their services for my photography workshops each year. The bottom has dropped out of their bookings and even in this week, they are having unannounced no-shows.
There is a palpable fear among those connected to the tourism industry – fear that the whole season will be a bust.
Meanwhile, we woke up this morning in Cortona and will continue to do so. We have books, I have cameras, and we are formulating plans for what our next 2 months can be.