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.

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

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 »

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!

First step is to get myself a Gelato Tasting CARD. The festival is free, but tastings are paid (1€ each). The card is sold online, at infopoints in Piazza SS. Annunziata and Piazza S. Giovanni and at the tourist office in Piazza Stazione 4 (in front of S.M.N. Station). The program of the Gelato Festival (in Italian) is rich of events. In addition to ice cream tastings, there are live demonstrations of master ice cream makers, workshops, meetings and exhibits, all connected to ice cream.

Besides this “delicious” festival, from May 29th to June 5th the Classico è event in Chianti will be promoting wine and culture of Chianti Classico. I’d like to go to Panzano in Chianti on Sunday, but Sunday is also Cantine Aperte, or “open wineries”, the most important event for wine tourism every year. This year there is a Wine Shuttle that drives you from Siena to Montepulciano and Montalcino for wine tastings.

In addition, if we have good weather, I want to visit the Museo Bardini which is hosting one of the first examples of Marzocco (the lion symbol of Florence) just recently restored. And I want to go to Villa Bardini for the exhibit La Grande Madre – The Big Mother – displaying beautiful statues by Giuseppe Gavazzi.

I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do this weekend in Florence but I know one thing for sure: tummy of mine, make some space in there!

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.

On Saturday I’ll wake up with no alarm and get a cappuccino and cornetto at my local bar. Then I’m planning to go to the Sant’Ambrogio market (Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm in Piazza Ghiberti) to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and maybe new clothes. After walking around Borgo la Croce, Borgo Albizi and Via del Corso looking at shop windows, I’m planning lunch at La Cantinetta da Verrazzano in via de’ Tavolini and a delicious schiacciatina farcita, that is typical Tuscan flat bread filled with vegetables and/or cold cuts. If I have some spare time before dinner, I wish to visit the Marino Marini Museum that is right now hosting a funny work of contemporary art called Caffè Sindona. For dinner I’ll go out with friends in the Mugello to eat Tortelli di patate, handmade ravioli filled with potatoes and cheese, a local specialty.

I’m still not sure what to do on Sunday. There are so many events and I also want to watch the GP Grand Prix. On my agenda, the relaxing brunch at Hemingway cafè near Piazza del Carmine is for sure, and I’d like to include visits to a few of the gardens and historical residences in Florence’s center that are open just this Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm as part of the event Exclusive Tuscany 2010. Then I intend to go to Pratolino Park and enjoy Ruralia 2010, a nice green festival with food and animals, of course if I have enough time!

So these are my plans for a weekend in Florence. Who said that Florence isn’t fun and has lots to offer?

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.

The Museo dei Ragazzi inside the Palazzo organizes evening guided visits to hidden rooms and paths within the building. Tours are unfortunately in Italian and take place on Monday, Friday and Saturday at 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm. Even though you don’t speak Italian, I suggest you take this chance to visit places that aren’t  generally open to the public in Palazzo Vecchio. For reservations and information you can call directly the Museo dei Ragazzi and here you find the official calendar of evening activities in Florence.

So we all cross our fingers for this rain to stop soon, so that we can burn the midnight oil at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence!

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.

From Palazzo Vecchio to Badia Fiesolana, from the Oblate Library to Caffè Sant’Ambrogio, from Santa Trinita Church to Russian Orthodox Church – these are just some of the places that will host these special events in Florence.

Among the events there are classical concerts, disco music, plays, activities for children, lectures, dances from all over Europe, as well as special European menus in many Florentine restaurants.

Most performances will be for free. Some others will be on payment. For those that require payment, if you register for a European Passport on the official website Florence Blue Night 2010 and carry it with you, you’ll pay a discounted entrance fee instead of the full fee. On the website you will also find the detailed program for this blue Florentine night.

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!