The Delicate Balance (Undergrad Thesis, 2024)
The Delicate Balance is a documentary photo essay book that depicts the challenges Florence, Italy, faces during the age of over-tourism. The project explores how tourism has impacted this historic city and its people, the Florentines, through a series of 50 photos examining the city and those living or visiting there. I aim to show the impacts we make as tourists on others’ homes and identities. This issue is important as while travel can be fun and insightful, the choices we make can unintentionally damage a place’s livelihoods, culture, and economy.
Pictures provide a universal language that shows a message, so I chose a photo essay as my medium. To produce The Delicate Balance, capturing my images was the first essential step, and I was given a golden opportunity to do so when I had the privilege of studying abroad in Florence for three weeks. I immersed myself in the city, experiencing its intricacies and spending time with the Florentines. I took my camera everywhere during my stay and focused on capturing everything I could. I aimed to capture the impacts of tourism in Florence, which was easy, but I also wanted to show Florence’s authentic self. I must thank my family friend, Adriana Faust, a Florence native and tour guide. She took me to local areas of the city that tourists usually do not see. Her expertise, along with insights from my instructor, Fabio Binarelli, gave me a critical understanding of the local mindset on tourism’s impact on the city.
To help formulate my photo essay, I also researched the impacts of over-tourism using peer-reviewed journal articles. These findings, especially the disturbing statistics of its drastic consequences, coalesced my thoughts around the message I wanted to convey in my work. As someone who was not a native Florentine, nor had I been a long-term resident of Florence, my research had me asking, “ What is my role as a tourist, and how can people such as myself, who love this Tuscan city, help preserve its legacy and growth in a healthy way?” This question presented a huge challenge that I needed to consider. I did not want my thesis to add fuel to Florence’s over-tourism problem; instead, I wanted to provide awareness and ways for people to help Florence and cities like it preserve their rich history.
I started with about 8,000 photographs. As Florence was more than an ocean away, I wanted to ensure I got what I needed. I was admittedly overwhelmed during the editing phase, which took many months to complete. I weeded out many photos, then edited the ones I felt had promise on Adobe Lightroom. Focusing on image quality, composition, and narrative, I selected the best 50 images. The final result is The Delicate Balance.
With tourism as Florence’s top revenue source, the city and its people are being forced to adapt to being outnumbered by tourists. They must find ways to promote Florence as a tourist destination while preserving its cultural heritage. It is a delicate balance which is essential for the city’s future. My thesis project provides a narrative of what’s happening in Florence today. While over-tourism is likely to stay, the more individuals are aware of its effects, the better our efforts will be in protecting a city we love and appreciate.