Discover Tuscany’s Blog: exploring Tuscany and all its hidden corners…

So once again this weekend we have another holiday coming up: New Year’s Day! Practically everything will be closed on Sunday, even those museums usually open on that day.

Like last weekend, on New Year’s Eve most everything will be open but closing about an hour earlier than usual. This includes the Uffizi and Accademia.

So after your late-night celebration on New Year’s Eve (see our post from yesterday offering suggestions of what to do), you might want to sleep in a bit on Sunday. No problem at all! But eventually you’ll get hungry and then after a meal you might want to do something in the afternoon, like see a little more of Florence .

Don’t despair – not everything is closed!
(more…)

Here we are. The countdown for toasting the new year, 2011, has started. Florence has prepared several events for all those wishing to celebrate in the city’s main squares. These are the main events and squares:

Piazza Santa Maria Novella:
In front of the Santa Maria Novella train station will be the main concert of the Italian band Elio e Le Storie Tese which will start around 11.45 pm. Before, at 9.15pm, there will be two Florentine bands, Ganzi and Hacienda. Then from 1.45 am there will be a DJ set with Lorelei, Pulse and Gianpaolo D’Amico.

Contiue reading about New Year's celebrations »

Here we are, the last weekend before Christmas. Bells are ringing and weather forecasts predict snow… what better way to say Christmas than this? Joking aside, here are the main events in Tuscany for this third weekend of December if you’re fine with covering up well to deal with the low temps around here at the moment.

Florence:

On Saturday and Sunday, December 18^th and 19^th, you can head over to Piazza Santissima Annunziata to the Arts&Crafts market. There will be several craftsmen showing their works, you might find something interesting for a gifts or two.

Read more »

It’s almost mid-December but it’s still warm. After a couple of freezing days we came back to mild, gray weather. So let’s see the main events for this second weekend of December:

Florence:

This weekend, head to the German Christmas Market in Piazza Santa Croce, open every day from 10am to 8pm. Then visit Florence Noel at the Leopolda Station until Sunday.
In Piazza Santo Spirito on Sunday December 12^th there will be the monthly arts and crafts market, while within walking distance in Piazza Tasso, at the Ex-Leopoldine Mercanatale, you’ll find a market of local farmers selling only organic products.

Read more »

Wow! Today is December 1^st and the countdown for Christmas has started! Florence has been lighted up with thousands of Christmas lights all around the city. As usual during the Advent there are several Christmas markets and lots of events all around Tuscany.

Christmas markets are the ideal places for finding unique Christmas decorations, handmade gifts and for tasting Christmas sweets and local products. Here you have a list of main Christmas markets in Tuscany 2010:

Read more »

1 x 1 Collection

From December 3^rd to 5^th the historical borough of San Frediano in Florence Oltrarno, worldly renowned for Florentine craftsmen workshops, will host an interesting exhibition of contemporary handmade jewels. At the workshop Laboratorio 28rosso in Via dell’Orto, 14 young female artists from all over the world, will show their last creations.

On display lots of jewels made of different materials in various shapes and with different techniques. Colorful wooden bracelets, aluminum rings, necklaces with ancient textiles. Each jewel is a unique piece of art, entirely hand made by the artist. The jewels on display are by Daniela Boieri, Catalina Brenes, Margherita de Martino Norante, Elinor de Spoelberch, Marina Elenskaya, Eugenia Ingegno, Maru Lopez, Lucia Massei, Geri Nishi, Marzia Rossi, Yoko Shimizu, Elena Spanò, Camilla Teglio, Gabi Veit.

The workshop will also be a temporary shop where you can purchase directly from the artists their creations and jewels. The exhibits will open on Friday at 5pm until 8pm and at 7pm there will be offered a delicious buffet. On Saturday and Sunday it will open from 10am to 10pm. For more information visit www.1x1collection.com.

The cold winter has come all at once. After weeks of heavy rain, it suddenly became cold. The weather has become unpredictable, even here in Tuscany. Even though the weather forecasts will predict rain for this last weekend in November, today we still publish the main events in Tuscany for the upcoming weekend that will likely still happen rain or shine. If you’re willing to be out and about, here are some ideas of things to do this weekend.

Florence:

On Sunday November 28^th there will be the 27th Firenze Marathon, an appointment for thousands of runners coming from all over the world.
In Piazza dei Ciompi there will be the monthly appointment with the large Antiques market that spills out onto all of the streets around the Piazza. Read more »

As I wrote last week, November is the rainiest month in Tuscany. This week I almost thought I would have become a mermaid .  It luckily seems that the weather will be better during the weekend but unfortunately it’s not predictable. Here you have a selection of the main events in Florence and Tuscany.

Tastings and typical products:

In Florence there is the Food and Wine Biennial 2010 and from Friday to Saturday there will be the Market of Flavors and Crafts in Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza Strozzi from 9am to 8pm. There will also be the “Cantine del Leone”, free wine and oil tastings in several wineries of Chianti Colli Fiorentini. Read more »

From November 12^th to 20^th Florence will be the cultural heritage and landscape capital of the world for the first edition of Florens 2010. The city will be a global lab of art, culture and economy for eight days with an international forum, many meetings, exhibits and events. Read More »

Last week we turned back the clock and now at 6.00 pm it is already dark. For me, November is the gloomiest month of the year, because it’s cold, the days are short and you don’t yet feel the holidays as in December. Luckily, in November there are many fairs and food festivals to cheer me up .

On November 6^th in Florence the Food and Wine Biennial 2010 will begin and last until November 22^nd. On Sunday November 7^th there will be Sweet Temptations where you can taste sweet wines as typical vinsanto together with typical cakes and cookies. In Piazza Santissima Annunziata there will be the nice and interesting Fair of Shepherds and Wool. There will be the exhibition of sheep and bovines, as well as organic food and wool. Read more »