Activities for Easter Sunday and Monday in Florence

[Guest]

Your website looks great. Our sons will be spending part of their spring break in Florence/Tuscany. Will there be anything open and any activities they can do on Easter Sunday and Monday, including museums or tours?
thanks,
Susan

[Cristina]

There are activities planned for Easter Sunday in Florence and other localities, but Monday tends to be a quiet day with most places closed and people at home with families.

On Easter Sunday: the big event in Florence for Easter is the Scoppio del Carro, or the "explosion of the cart". For over 300 years the Easter celebration in Florence has included this ritual, during which an elaborate wagon, a structure built in 1622 and standing two to three stories high, is dragged through Florence behind a fleet of white oxen decorated in garlands.

This tradition finds its origins in events that are partly historic and partly legendary. A young Florentine named Pazzino, a member of the noble Pazzi family, apparently took part in the First Crusade in the Holy Land, where he gave ample proof of his courage (he was the first to scale the walls of Jerusalem and raise the Christian banner). When he came home, he brought back three flints from the Holy Sepulchre that he received for his act of courage. This reliquary, today preserved in the Church of SS. Apostoli, lies behind the Florentine celebration for the Resurrection of Christ.

The ceremony starts precisely in front of this church on Easter Sunday; the priest rubs Pazzino’s three flints together until they spark and light the Easter candle; this, in turn, is used to light some coals which are placed in a container on the cart and the procession delivers the holy fire to the Archbishop of Florence before the Mass in Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as the Duomo.

At 11 a.m., when the "Gloria" is sung inside the church, the Archbishop uses the fire to light a dove–shaped rocket from inside the church which then travels down a wire to the outside and collides with the cart in the square, setting off a spectacular firework display to the cheers of all. A big bang ensures a good harvest, and a parade in medieval costume follows.

Museums:
In general, museums are closed either on Mondays or Tuesdays. So I believe many might be closed on that Monday after Easter but you should check at the sites below for any specific museums you are interested in visiting (generally, the Uffizi gallery and the Accademia are the most visited)

Polo Museale Fiorentino

[Lourdes]

Last year I was able to find a list of museums and opening hours for Easter... but just like 5 days before Easter!

I am posting last year's list and opening hours since it might still be useful. Easter is a time when many Italians also travel, so museums that generally close on Mondays make exceptions.

For example, last year both the Uffizi and Accademia were open on both days. So was the Pitti Palace and all of its museums.
Palazzo Vecchio, the Medici Chapels and the Bargello, on the other hand, were open only on one of the two days.

As soon as I find this year's listing, I'll post that on here too.