Festivals and Events
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Epiphany celebrations
Decorations are evident throughout the area.
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Carnival
Wild and exciting street celebrations in the days before Lent. Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci.
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Scoppio del Carro
The Explosion of the Cart: an ox-drawn cart full of fireworks is taken by procession to Piazza del Duomo and set off by a mechanical dove that travels by wire from the cathedral’s high altar at midnight mass.
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Festa del Grillo
The Festival of the Cricket. A fair in Cascine Park, popular with children. Crickets in tiny cages are sold to be set free.
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Football games in 16th century costume
Commemorate a match played in 1530, with an elaborate parade preceding it. Piazza Santa Croce.
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Estate Fiesolana
Summer festival of music, ballet and theatre in the hill-top town of Fiesole.
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Florence Dance Festival
An extravaganza of dancing in venues throughout the city. Three weeks.
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Feast Of The Assumption
Celebrated with dance and music in many of the city’s squares.
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Festa della Rificolone
An evening procession with torches and paper lanterns on Ponte San Niccolo and river banks.
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World Pasta Day
Choose your own particular favourite.
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Florence Marathon
One of the Top 20 international marathons, in historic surroundings.
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Christmas market
Huge Christmas tree, stalls and entertainment.
Theatre, Cinema and Opera
There’s always something interesting going on in Florence. Summertime al fresco concerts are held in the Boboli Gardens, and organ recitals are presented in historic churches in September and October. During June, July and August, the Estate Fiesolana features a festival of concerts, ballet, drama and film staged at the restored Roman amphitheatre. www.estatefiesolana.it. The opera season gets underway in December and runs until April – most productions are at the Teatro Comunale. An impressive chamber music season is run by the Amici della Musica in the Teatro della Pergola www.amicimusica.fi.it. Nearly all English language films screened in Florence have been dubbed into Italian. One place that shows movies in English is the Cinema Astro near Piazza Santa Croce in the tiny Piazza San Simone. But be prepared for metal folding-chairs and a small screen.
Museums and Galleries
Apart from the Uffizi and the Accademia, mentioned above, there are more than 60 museums and art galleries. The Bargello was once a prison, but now accommodates the National Museum, part of which houses one of the most impressive collections of Renaissance sculpture in the world. www.arca.net/db/musei/bargello. Another worth a visit is the Argenti museum which displays the Medici family’s collection of precious treasures in the grandiose setting of the summer apartments. www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/argenti
For Children
The Italians love children and welcome young families in hotels and most restaurants and there are a number of attractions that will keep the young ones amused. Younger children quickly tire of museums and galleries, especially in the heat of summer. Intersperse museum visits with world-famous Italian ice-cream from one of the city’s many gelaterie or visit the pigeons and horses and carts that congregate in the Piazza della Signoria. Older children might enjoy the climb to the top of the Campanile or the dome in the cathedral. There are also a number of off-beat museums, including those covering natural history, anthropology, mineralogy and paleontology. Particularly good for the little ones is the Museo dei Ragazzi (Museum for Kids), a scheme that has created interactive learning spaces for children across Florence with the aim of getting them involved in the art and history of the city. www.invernoafirenze.it/eventi_eng
