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Florence

Seasonal Highlights

Florence and Tuscany throughout the year

Tuscany is most beautiful in May when meadows and waysides are carpeted with the same bright flowers that Botticelli's Flora blithely scatters in Primavera, his celebration of spring. Autumn is equally colourful, when the beech and chestnut woods turn a glorious blaze of seasonal red and gold. The best months for escaping the heat and the crowds are May, September and October. Easter should avoided, as also July and August, because of the long queues outside major museums. However if you are visiting Florence in these months, you are sure to have a fantastic time anyhow. During August when Tuscans head for the sea, you will find shops, bar and restaurants closed. To see traditional festivities like the Palio in Siena or Arezzo's Joust of the Saracen, you will need to book accommodation a year ahead, but there are many other local festivities to enjoy.

SPRING

Tuscany begins to wake from winter as Easter approaches. The hillsides are vibrant with the soft green of new leaves and the scent of fresh growth. Even in the cities there is a sense of renewal as hanging baskets and window boxes are displayed outside from April onwards and wisteria and iris bloom in the public gardens.
Instead of winter's heavy game dishes, asparagus, a speciality of the Lucca area, begins to feature on restaurant menus, along with tender young beans, usually served in lemon juice and oil.
Except at Easter time, the streets and main sights are rarely overcrowded, but the weather can be unpredictable and unseasonably wet.

March

Carnevale (four Sundays leading to lent and Shrove Tuesday), Viareggio .

Scoppio del Carro, or the Explosion of the Carriage (Easter Sunday), Piazza del Duomo, Florence. An 18th century gilded cart is pulled to the cathedral doors by white oxen, and a dove-shaped rocket swoops down a wire from above the High Altar inside to ignite fireworks in the cart. Ostensibly a celebration of the Resurrection, the ceremony has roots in pagan fertility rites. Many Tuscans still believe that a successful firework display means a good harvest.

Festa degli Aquiloni, or Kite Festival (first Sunday after Easter), San Miniato. Kite lovers perform aerial acrobatics on the Prato della Rocca, the grassy common above San Miniato.

April

Sagra Musicale Lucchese, (April-early July) Lucca. This extensive festival of sacred music is held in the city's numerous Romanesque churches.

Mostra Merrcato Internazionale dell'Artigianato, or Exhibition of Crafts (last week), Fortezza da Basso, Florence. An important European exhibition of the work of artists and artisans.

May

Maggio Musicale, Florence. This is the city's major arts festival and it now lasts until late June, with concerts by the Orchestra Regionale Toscana, directed by Zubin Mehta, and other international performers. The festival has been extended to include dance (from classical ballet to experimental work) and fringe events.

Festa del Grillo, or the Cricket Festival (first Sunday after Ascension Thursday), Le Cascine, Florence. The huge park to the west of Florence, where Shelley wrote Ode to the West Wind, is the setting for this event, a celebration of the joys of spring. Stallholders used to sell live crickets, which were then released to bring good luck. These days the festival is celebrated with handmade crickets.

Balestro del Girifalco, or Falcon Contest (first Sunday after 20 May), Massa Marittima.

SUMMER

From June onwards, Tuscany's festive calendar becomes increasingly crowded. These are scores of small town festivals, many of them taking place around Midsummer Day, the feast of John the Baptist, on June 24. these provide an opportunity to sample local food and wine and join in the atmosphere, or to seek out some of the bigger set-piece festivals.

June

Calcio in Costume, or Football in Costume (June 24 and two other days in June), Florence.

Estate Fiesolana, or Fiesole Summer (mid-June to end August), Fiesole. Festival of music, arts, drama, dance and film. Many events are staged in the amphitheatre.

Regata di San Ranieri (June 17), Pisa. Boat races in costume and processions of colourfully decorated boats on the river Arno. After dark, its bankside buildings are illuminated by tens of thousands of flaming torches.

Gioco del Ponte or Game of the Bridge (last Sunday in June), Pisa. A ritual battle played out on a bridge.

July

Corsa del Palio (July 2 and August 16), Siena. Tuscany's most famous event.

Pistoia Blues (early July), Piazza del Duomo, Pistoia. Famous international festival of blues music, lasting for a week.

Settimana Musicale Senese (dates vary), Siena. Throughout this "Musical Week", chamber music and classical concerts are performed in splendid settings, such as the Palazzo Chigi-Saraceni.

August

Festival Pucciniano (late July-all August), Torre del Lago Puccini. Performances of the composer's operas in an open-air theatre by the lake where he lived.

Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte (late July-early August), Montepulciano. Directed by the composer Hans Werner Henze, this is an important festival of new work by leading composers, dramatists and choreographers.

Festa della Bistecca (August 15), Cortona. The festival of the Beefsteak- a local specialty.

II Baccanale (penultimate Saturday), Montepulciano. Feast of wine, food and song to celebrate the local Vino Nobile.

AUTUMN

Autumn is the season of the vendemmia, the grape harvest. Visitors should watch for public notices of the many sagre, or festivals, that take place throughout the region. These are family-oriented events which typically feature a single local specialty which is in season, such as funghi porcini (porcini mushrooms). The first frosts will occur any time from the end of October, and at this point the great tracts of woodland all over Tuscany begin to turn brilliant shades of red and gold.

September

Giostra del Saraceno or the Joust of the Saracen (first Sunday), Arezzo.

Festa della Rificolona (September 7), Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, Florence. Children from all over the city carry candle-lit paper lanterns to honour the eve of the birth of the Virgin.

Palio della Balestra or Crossbow Festival (second Sunday), Sansepolcro. Costume parades and flag throwing accompany a crossbow competition between Sansepolcro and the Umbrian town of Gubbio.

Luminara di Santa Croce (September 13), Lucca. The city's famous relic, the Volto Santo, a wooden statue of Christ, is paraded around by torchlight.

Rassegna del Chianti Classico (second week), Greve in Chianti. The biggest Tuscan celebration of local wines.

Mostra Mercato Internazionale dell'Antiquariato (Sept.-Oct, in odd numbered years), Florence. A major biennial antiques fair.

October

Amici della Musica (Oct-April), Florence. The "Friends of Music" concert season begins.

Sagra del Tordo or Festival of the Thrush (last Sunday), Montalcino.

November

Festival dei Popoli (Nov-Dec), in venues throughout Florence. Tuscany's most important film festival. Open to everyone, it shows films in their original language with Italian subtitles.

WINTER

This can be a good time to visit Florence and enjoy the city's museums and churches in tranquillity. It can be bitterly cold, but the skies are blue and the city is often bathed in golden sunlight, making this many photographers' favourite season. All over Tuscany, town squares are filled with the aroma of roasting chestnuts, and in December, the last of the olive crop is being harvested in the southernmost parts.

December

Fiaccole di Natale, or Festival of Christmas Torches (Christmas Eve), Abbadia di San Salvatore, near Montalcino. Carols and torchlight processions in memory of the shepherds from the first Christmas Eve.

January

Capodanno. New Year's Day is celebrated with gusto all over Tuscany. There are fireworks displays, and volleys from hunters firing into the air, and from exploding firecrackers: all are part of a ritual to frighten away the ghosts and spirits of the old year and welcome in the new.

Pitti Immagine Uomo (throughout January), Fortezza da Basso, Florence. At this prestigious fashion show, Italian designers and international courtiers gather to present their spring and summer collections for men. Children's collections (Pitti Bimbo) are sometimes presented in January too.

February

Carnevale (Sundays before Lent, Shrove Tuesday), Viareggio. A festive event renowned for its parades, competitions and amusing floats, often inspired by topical themes. There are many other opportunities to enjoy pre-Lent celebrations, such as the equally splendid carnival festivities that take place in San Gimignano and Arezzo.