Assumption Day:Open Museums in Florence

August 15th, the Assumption day, is a national holiday in Italy and most of museums, shops and restaurants are generally closed. But if you are in Florence for your vacation, don’t worry there are many museums which will remain open

Among the open museums on August 15th there the Uffizi Gallery, Academy Gallery and Pitti Palace and its museums, as well as the Medici Chapels, Palazzo Vecchio and the Archeological Museum. The open churches are the Duomo and the Opera del Duomo Museum, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery, together with Santa Croce Church and Santa Maria Novella Church. The Church of Santo Spirito will be open only in the afternoon from 4 pm to 5.30 pm.

Museums and Churches will follow the regular opening hours. Here you find the list of open museums in Florence on August 15th with opening and closing hours.

Thanks to the success obtained last summer, both the Uffizi Gallery and the Academy Gallery are again offering a day every week when the museums stay open until late into the evening. Every Tuesday in August both Florence museums will be open until 10.00 pm. The last entrance is at 7 pm and museum ticket reservations are recommended.

What do you think about spending the night of St. Lawrence surrounded by Renaissance masterpieces?

So did everyone have a good “San Giovanni”? Did you enjoy the fireworks? Beautiful!

If you’re still in Florence this weekend, we’ve got another recommendation for you. Saturday night, starting at 9am and continuing on to 3am Sunday the Oltrarno puts together the “Nottarno”, a night of events and activities to head toward the Oltrano area on Saturday evening. Starting at 9pm, the historic neighborhood on the other side of the Arno hosts events along its streets and piazzas to enjoy cultural entertainment, from music to plays and wine.

Some examples:
Via Santa Monaca – jugglers and acrobats, organic wine tasting and jazz concert
Via Camaldoli – get your hand read or your destiny foretold with the pendulum
Piazza del Cestello – “Anfitrione”, a comedy show put on by the students of “commedia dell’arte” from the Teatro Cestello
Piazza Pitti – live music
Piazza del Carmine – dance to Latin-American rhythms
Via Romana and Via Sant’Agostino – businesses will be offering along the street free slices of watermelon, cups of sangria and slices of mortadella
Piazza Poggi – young DJ artists Umberto Saba and Fabio della Torre will make sure music fills the air

The Museum Siviero with its large art collection will remain open as well as the Convitto della Calza.

Summer is finally here! Aside from enjoying a walk with a gelato in hand through downtown, enjoy the special events connected to today’s celebration of Florence’s patron saint, St. John the Baptist. As you can imagine, the day’s celebrations are mostly religious – including a large mass this morning in the cathedral – but many more are part of Florence’s long history and are fun to watch and participate in.

Starting at 6pm tonight, the parade in historical costume of the Calcio Storico Fiorentino starts in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The participants in the game as well as musicians, flag-throwers from the Sbandieratori degli Uffizi and city officials will join in the parade toward Piazza Santa Croce.

At 7pm the “friendly” Calcio Storico match begins between the Blues (Santa Croce neighborhood) and Whites (Santo Spirito neighborhood) in Piazza Santa Croce. You can buy your tickets at the Teatro Verdi’s box office on via Ghibellina 99 starting at 5pm today. Tickets cost from € 15 to € 40, depending on the seating area.

At 8.45pm there is a musical concert along the Lungarno della Zecca while the “Fochi di San Giovanni” or fireworks display starts at 10pm. Just head toward the Arno to get a great view of the fireworks. As they are set up and go off from Piazzale Michelangelo, the piazzale has been closed off to foot traffic all day but the best view is from the Arno, with the fireworks’ bright colors reflecting off the river. See you there tonight!

View photographs of the historical parade and June 24 celebrations »

After the great success of the extraordinary openings in May, Palazzo Vecchio goes on burning the midnight oil and for the month of June.

Palazzo Vecchio opens every day from 9.00 am to 12.00 am, except on Thursdays and June 24th (9.00 am to 7.00 pm). There are guided tours to Rampart walk running every 30 minutes from 8.00 to 10.30 pm. For reservation and information contact directly Museo dei Ragazzi.

Don’t miss the chance to burn the midnight oil in Palazzo Vecchio this June!

Today is Thursday and I’ve started planning this last weekend of May in Florence since from the next one we Florentines generally like to leave the hot city for the seaside or the countryside, even if I personally am fine with a little bit of warm sunny days.

My attention is focused on the eagerly awaited Florence Gelato Festival. It looks like Florence will turn into the international capital of ice cream from May 28th to 31st. The last 4 or 5 weeks the event has been advertised and sponsored everywhere, from newspapers, magazines, blogs, ads on streets and on buses. The festival takes places in different areas in Florence’s city center, in Piazza SS. Annunziata, Piazza Repubblica, Piazza S. Giovanni and Palazzo Vecchio. There are local, national and international ice cream makers, that means lots of ice cream to taste!

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What do I do in Florence on weekends?

Today is Thursday and I’m planning my weekend in Florence. Of course as a Florentine I have lots of Florentine friends and several of them always complain that they can’t find anything interesting to do in town, from events to night-life. Well I want to prove that Florence has so much to offer and I’d like to share with you my plans for this weekend.

My weekend starts tomorrow night after work with the Friday happy-hour at the Oblate Caffè on the roof-terrace of the Oblate Library that stays open until midnight from Tuesday to Saturday. Then me and my friends will got to visit Palazzo Vecchio, that is extraordinarily open at night during the whole month of May. After a bit of culture, a bit of fun so we’ll probably get a gelato as we wait for the upcoming Gelato Festival next week, and then go to Jazz Club Firenze (Via Nuova de’ Caccini, 3) to listen to some good music.

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Palazzo Vecchio burns the midnight oil!

After the great success during Florence White Night 2010, Matteo Renzi, Florence Mayor, decided to open Palazzo Vecchio at night.

From May 2nd to 31st Palazzo Vecchio is open every day from 9am to 12 am, except on Thursday (9 am to 2 pm). It means that you can have a nice dinner out in Florence, then wandering around the city center, maybe eating ice-cream, and then you can visit the beautiful rooms and apartments of Palazzo Vecchio.

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After Florence’s White Night, Florence turns blue with Florence’s Blue Night 2010. It will be a night dedicated to Europe and its traditions, as well as cultures and differences.

There will be many events from 3 pm Saturday, May 8 to 6 pm Sunday, May 9. More than 24 hours of concerts, dances, performances in the streets and squares of Florence, but also in stores, libraries, restaurants and cinemas in the city center and in its surroundings.

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As posted before in less than 10 days, on April 30th, Florence will be animated by a Creative Insomnia, the magical and sleepless Florence White Night 2010. And finally the calendar of this upcoming event in Florence is here.

Please click here to download the calendar of Florence White Night 2010 (in Italian).

Concerts of classic, rock, pop and jazz music, ballet performances, temporary exhibits, art installations, colorful lights, movies, lectures, comics, guided tours to museums and boroughs. And then lots to eat and drink, people, different cultures coming and mixing together.

It will surely be a great event in and for Florence and we strongly recommend you don’t miss visiting Florence on April 30th. Don’t miss Insomnia Creativa – Florence White Night 2010!