Carnival celebrations 2019

Hilldl

New member
I will be in Florence February 16-20 (2019) and I am wondering if anyone has information on these two events. What are they about? What kinds of displays happen, where, cost...

Calcio Storico, and the rallying of the troops
The anniversary of the death of Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici

Thanks
 
February in Florence

Buongiorno,

You have done your homework!

Our February calendar has yet to be completely updated, but many events are actually tied to a specific date - so you will find the information pretty accurate.
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-events/february-in-florence.html


The Calcio Storico in February is tied to the 17th and is called the PARTITA DELL'ASSEDIO recalling a famous siege in Florentine history. You can see the Corteo (a parade in historical dress starting around 2:30 PM. You need to get there early to find a place for the game (even an hour)

As for ELETTRICE PALATINA, her special date is the 18th of February. There isn't any huge fanfare but there are some special events you can look into:
http://calciostoricofiorentino.it/?...nt=/florence-events/february-in-florence.html

Buon viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
You should be able to find both events, as they happen annually, while you are here.

The Rallying of the troops by the Calcio Storico is a match between RETIRED players of the Calcio Storico, so it is much more low key than the ones in June, it is still set in Pza Santa Croce and is free. It also includes the parade in costume before the match so you should be able to see a lovely parade. I went a few years ago and I just went to Palazzo Vecchio/Via dei Neri a little earlier to watch the parade, then headed to Pza Santa Croce. It is still cold, there are no bleachers so standing room around the piazza only (they put haystacks to delimit the play area and you can sit or stand on those) and there aren't that many people so you should be able to enjoy it without too much of a crowd.

The celebration for Anna Maria is generally pretty low key, local authorities and a small part of the Calcio Storico once again dress up in historical costume and go to the Medici Chapels to deposit a wreath/crown of flowers on her tomb and the city generally offers entrance to CIVIC museums free - some years it has been to all of them, some years to just the Medici Chapels and the Pitti Palace, it depends..... as soon as I see info, I often do a blog post with the news on what is planned. That generally won't happen until the start of February, if that. So keep tuned to see updates, on our blog which we also share on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VisitFlorence/

Enjoy Florence in February! :)
 
Mardi Gras in Florence?

Mardi Gras this year is on March 5th. Are there any local celebrations in Florence on that date, or the weekend before?
 
Carnival in Florence

Buongiorno,

You will always be able to find a party happening in Florence, but if you have your heart on seeing the colorful parades that are closely associated with Carnevale in Tuscany you might need to go outside of the city borders - but not too far!

Have a look at this article for some activities happening nearby: https://www.discovertuscany.com/tuscany-events/carnival-in-tuscany.html

Buon Viaggio - and buon Carnevale!

Donna Denise
 
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