As Winter Drags On, Mike Nutter Living it Up in Florence, Italy

Perks of being the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors: Hanging out in Tuscany. Along with some fellow Mayors from South Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, and Arizona, Nutter is on a five-day jaunt to Florence–Philadelphia’s “Sister City” since 1964–where he’s apparently soaking up some culture to import to Philadelphia.

“In Philadelphia 50,000 people are dependent on art and culture for their livelihood,” and where better to learn how to capitalize on and add to Philadelphia’s cultural assets than one of the biggest tourism cities in the world, Nutter says.

No fear, suspicious taxpayers, the U.S. Conference is picking up the tab. So how is the Mayor enjoying the ancestral home of the Medici family? “Florence seems like a very lively, vibrant city with culture and history – like Philadelphia. It certainly looks beautiful. I just haven’t seen much of it. I’ve been in meetings.” Clearly, or–no offense Philadelphia–but he might not have made the comparison. [NBC 10]