Tuscan Town Accused of Culinary Racism for Kebab Ban

Flavia Krause-Jackson

January 27

Bloomberg

The Tuscan town of Lucca is being accused of “culinary racism” after banishing from its center restaurants serving Middle Eastern kebabs and Chinese takeaways.

Lucca’s municipal council ruled yesterday that “with a view to safeguarding culinary traditions and the authenticity of structure, architecture, culture and history, establishments whose activities can be tracked to different ethnicities won’t be allowed to operate.” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party controls the town council.

The architects of the ban say it applies to fast-food outlets, which includes not just kebab stalls, but also pizza stands, and the aim is to highlight the local cuisine based on beans, rabbit and salt cod. A spokeswoman confirmed the new rule -- an update to a 2000 ordinance -- and said it applies only to the area within the town’s fortified medieval walls inhabited by 8,000 residents.

Still, the direct reference to “ethnicity” adds an “occult” aspect to the rulings, Paolo Cocchi, the regional councilor for Culture, Tourism and Trade, told Ansa news agency.

Founded in pre-Roman times, Lucca is located 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Pisa and has a population of about 90,000. It peaked during the Renaissance, when it rivaled Florence, and was conquered by Napoleon in 1805.

To contact the reporter on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in Rome at fjackson@bloomberg.net