Festivals and Events in Florence

Florence’s most important event, the Scoppio del Carro, is in March-April. Celebrated on Easter Sunday it is an ox and cart procession, which culminates in a spectacular fireworks display when the entire cart explodes near the Duomo.

If you are in Italy around August (which is off-season for tourism), you might find some entertainment in the Settimane Musicali at Stesa al, and in the opera in Milan and Verona.

Other festivals that are worth marking on your calendar are the Florence Carnival held in the month of February before Lent, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Apr-July) a major festival featuring two months of concerts, ballets and operas and the La Rificolona or the Festival of Lanterns held on the 7th of September during which children carry paper mache lanterns through the streets of the city. This festival is a celebration of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.