Calendar of Events

6 January Epiphany Calvacade of the Three Kings, starting at the Palazzo Pitti and winding through the centre of Florence, reproducing the 15th-century Calvacade of the Magi that the Medici once held— not unlike the famous fresco in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

January Pitti Immagine Uomo, Men's Fashion Fair in the Fortezza da Basso

February Carnevale, with a parade of floats from Ognissanti to the Piazza della Signoria

March 25 Florentine New Year, on the Feast of the Annunciation, with lots of medieval costumes, food and music, centred on Santissima Annunziata

Easter Sunday: Lo Scoppio del Carro

Late April: Week-long Mostra Mercato di Piante e Fiori at the Giardino dell'Oritcultura. Also the Gelato Festival, in honour of the great Florentine inventor of ice cream, Bernardo Buontalenti.

Late April-early June: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino at the Opera di Firenze- Teatro del Maggio Musicale.

Mid May: Artigianato e Palazzo, celebration of handcrafts at the Palazzo Corsini al Prato.

June: Pitti Immagine Uomo, Men's Fashion Fair in the Fortezza da Basso

24 June: Calcio Storico and fireworks for St John, the patron saint of Florence. Best place to watch is from the upper Parnaso gardens of the Giardino dell'Oritcultura

10 August Festa di San Lorenzo, with lots of lasagne and watermelon in the piazza around the church

End of August-Early September: New Generation Festival dedicated to young opera singers, in the gardens of the Palazzo Corsini al Prato.

7 Septembember Festa delle Rificolone, the festival of paper lanterns, a Renaissance tradition with a procession between Piazza Santissima Annunziata and Piazza Santa Croce

8 October Festa di Santa Reparata, with a historical parade and visits to the crypt in the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore