Florence and the Night White

From 7 pm 30 April to 6 am 1st May Florence won’t sleep. Florentines and not, will be up all night long to attend the great event of Florence White Night 2010, entitled Creative Insomnia and promoted by Florence Municipality.

Many events, concerts and performances will animate the city. Almost every borough, square and street will have its attractions. Also many museums and buildings will be open, such as Palazzo Vecchio (open till 6 am), Palazzo Strozzi and the art exhbit “De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus. A look over the invisible” (till 5 am) and the Oblate Library (till 6 am) that will host special events, as well as the Uffizi Gallery open till midnight, Natural History Museums (till 1 am) and Bardini Museum (till 2 am).

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From April 16 to the 25th the 12th European Culture Week will be taking place all over Italy and Europe and thus in Tuscany as well. The event, successfully organized by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities, opens State museums, monuments, archeological sites, archives and libraries, both for Italian and foreign visitors with free entrance.

In Italy there will be over 2900 events during the week, with over 200 just in Tuscany. Free guided tours, as well as special exhibits and events, will be organized across the region, such as the extraordinary opening of the Gardens at Villa La Pietra and its Acton Collection.

The European Culture Week is certainly a unique occasion to discover and visit unique Italian masterpieces, as well as hidden Tuscan treasures enriching your unforgettable holidays in Tuscany. Aside from free entrance into state museums, you can enjoy a full schedule of events.

Easter is coming soon. And we have information to share with you on what to do and what to see in Florence and Tuscany next weekend.

Most of the museums in Florence will be open on Easter Sunday and Monday (April 4 and 5). In particular some State Museums are “extraordinarily” open such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery which are generally closed on Mondays. The Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, the San Marco Museum, Medici Chapels, Bargello Museum and Palazzo Davanzati will all be open. Read Full Post »

As usual there will take place the wonderful FAI di Primavera. The event is organized by Fondo Italiano per l’Ambiente (FAI – Italian Fund for Environment), a no-profit organization preserving and promoting Italian cultural heritage, and will open to public almost 600 Italian hidden treasures. Guided tours will be in Italian and for free donation. Read Full Post »

The days are dreary, wet and cold but if you’re here this weekend anyway, why not enjoy some time enjoying the best decadent treat there is at the Chocolate Fair in Piazza Santa Croce? Even with the rainy weather, the fair goes on under tents.

The fair started yesterday and goes on through Sunday, from 10 am to 10 pm. There are stands from local chocolatiers from Florence and Tuscany but also from the rest of Italy as well as France, Spain and Belgium.

Here is an idea of some of the free tastings or events available but, since space is limited, go ahead and email info@fieradelcioccolato.it right away to reserve your spot!!

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We posted a fun video of the allegorical float parade of the Carnival of Viareggio from last year to give you an idea of what the carnival in Viareggio looks like. If you’re in Tuscany this month, you can head to Viareggio by train and join in the fun every Sunday this month before Lent!

The Burlamacco - Official Mask of the Carnival of Viareggio

In a few days the famous Carnival of Viareggio 2010 will begin. The carnival in Viareggio is one of the greatest masked parades in Italy. The official calendar for this year’s carnival is: 31st of January, 7th and 14th of February (Sundays), 16th of February (Tuesday) and 21th of February (Sunday). The parade starts at 3.00 p.m. (and at 5.00 p.m. on the 21st of February).
Every Saturday before the carnival in Piazza Mazzini and at the Natural Commercial Center you’ll find entertainers, artists and music for both adults and children.

The Viareggio Carnival is really spectacular both for all ages. One of its unique characteristics are the giant Carnival floats in paper mache, even 20 meters tall, that parade along the seaside avenues of Viareggio, known as La Passeggiata of Corso Mazzini. These giant carts are built over several months, hard work that follows the ancient technique of the construction of sailing ships. Viareggio is known around the world for its workmanship in realizing sailing ships and yachts. Read Full Post »

The old locomotive of the steam engine train to Marradi

We took a beautiful trip to Marradi a few weekends ago, a mountain village located in the Tuscan Apennines near the border with Emilia Romagna, to go the town’s annual chestnut sagra or food festival.

The Mugello chestnuts are famous and are protected by the IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta, or Geographical Protected Indication) trademark and the festival was a wonderful occasion to taste and buy not only chestnuts but many local products as well. We bought chestnut flour, several pieces of local cheeses and a small chestnut cake to take home, in addition to all the other chestnut treats we had that day.

Read more about The Steam Engine Train to Marradi

a rificolona, or paper lantern

Last night we went for the first time to the Rificolona in Piazza Santissima Annunziata. It was an interesting gathering, mostly families with small children bearing lit paper lanterns toward the piazza but the procession really included people of all ages.

It was difficult to take good pictures since it was already dark but we did what we could. Since then, we’ve gone searching for more information on the tradition of the Rificolona and this is what we found about the Rificolona in Florence »

View the photo album with a few of the photographs that came out decently, considering the little light that was available and the movement of the people.

Sunday morning we took off to Volterra to once again travel back in time to the Middle Ages. Volterra is the perfect setting with its medieval architecture and since the whole city is involved in one way or another, the festival has been a favorite of ours since we discovered it.

Continue reading about our day at the Volterra medieval festival »