Visit Tuscany is an excellent idea and knowing which are the Tuscan public holidays could be really useful for your vacations! Why? Because visiting the land of the Renaissance during these days can offer you much more than the other moments of the year. infact public holidays mark many special events, like historical and religious ones.
This can permit to you to discover Tuscany in a total different view, even thanks to the many shops and business that stay open throughout the bank holidays in Tuscany, to not mentioning the uncountable attractions
Let’s discover what are Tuscan public holidays, how we call them and what traditionally do during those special days:
Tuscan Public Holidays
1. New Year’s Day January 1 (Capodanno)
2. Ephiphany January 6 (Epifania)
3. Easter (Pasqua) – You should try Colomba once in life!
4. Easter Monday (Pasquetta)
5. Liberation Day April 25 (Festa di Liberazione)
6. Labour Day May 1 (Festa dei lavoratori / Primo Maggio)
7. Republic Day June 2 (Festa della Repubblica)
8. Mid-August Holiday August 15 (Ferragosto)
9. All Saints’ Day November 1 (Ognisanti)
10. Feast of the Immaculate Conception December 8 (Assunzione dell’Immacolata concezione)
11. Christmas Day December 25 (Natale)
12. Boxing Day December 26 (Santo Stefano)
Events and Festival Calendars
FEBRUARY/MARCH
- Viareggio and Pisa:
Carnival parades with creative and imaginatively floats
MARCH/APRIL
- In many places
Palm Sunday: Blessing of the palm branches with procession. - Florence
On Easter Sunday visitors and residents go to the Piazza del Duomo for “Scoppio del Carro”. It is an igniter shaped like a dove shoots on a rope from the cathedral altar, to a festively decorated cart in order to set it alight. - Prato
Parade of the Holy Belt
APRIL/JUNE
- Florence
The oldest italian musical festival, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
MAY
- Alberese
Festival of Butteri (1-3 May), the Tuscan cowboys from Maremma have a rodeo; - Cortona
Giostra del Archidado: Festival of Archers with historical costumes.
MAY/JUNE
- Torre del Lago
Puccini opera season
JUNE
- In many places
Corpus Christi processions - Fiesole
Estate Fiesolana: Theatre, dance, music, and film festival (from mid Jun until the beginning of August) - Arezzo
Giostra del Saraceno, the third Sunday in June, an equestrian tournament first mentioned in 1593. - Pisa
Regatta di San Ranieri: Rowing regatta on the Arno River on 17 June. - Florence
Calcio Storico Fiorentino: ball game in historical costumes on the Feast of St. John on the Piazza della Signoria.
JULY
- Arezzo
Arezzo Wave: an open-air festival with excellent artists from the International music scene - Siena
Palio delle Contrade: the famous historic horse race on the Piazza del Campo - Grosseto
International Jazz Festival - Pistoia
Summer Festival: the biggest Italian rock and blues festival
Giostra dell’Orso: on 25th July, an historical equestrian game - San Giminiano
Concert and opera performances on the cathedral square - Volterra
Open-air theatre performances
JULY/AUGUST
- Montepulciano
Bravio delle Botti, a horse race like the Palio, which had taken on 29 August and today it is not longer carried out on horse-back but with barrels of 80kg/176lbs, which are rolled down the main street by representatives of the different part of the town - Carrara
Historical Marble Lizzatura: In the magnificent set of the marble quarries of Carrara, in the picturesque setting of the famous Ponti di Vara, it renews the unforgettable and unique in the world of lizzatura of marbles. With hard work and difficult maneuvers to be executed, a Lizzatori team will go down the route of the running, overcoming a gradient of 50%, a more than 20 ton block, from the quarry to the loading dock, reviving the ancient transport of marble blocks method, as was done in past centuries. The audience can enjoy an unforgettable and unique event in the world. - Siena
Jazz Concert and workshop
AUGUST
- Montalcino
Trush Festival, on the second Sunday in August every year the hunting season is opened with the Thrust Festival. Drummers, pipers, and knights in historical costume form a parade which goes up to the Fortezza, where the best archer of the quarters compete
- Massa Marittima
Balestro del Girifalco, town festival with archery contest in medieval costume - In many places
Procession and fireworks on 15 August for Ferragosto and for the Assumption of the Virgin - Cortona
Sagra della Bistecca, on 15 August the famous Florentine Steak is the celebrated with a festival and market in Porto Santo Stefano - Siena
Palio delle Contrade, edition of the 16 August - Alberese
Torneo dei Butteri, equestrian competition of the Maremman cow boys
SEPTEMBER
- Arezzo
Giostra del Saraceno, a competition that goes back to the crusades - Pienza
Fiera del Cacio, sheep’s cheese festival on the first Sunday - Sansepolcro
Palio della Balestra, historical crossbow copetition, on the second Sunday in September - Lucca
Luminara di Santa Croce, torch-light procession on 13th September - Forte dei Marmi
Satire Festival, cabaret, talk show and video shows
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
- Impruneta
Festa dell’Uva, the Chianti hosts the largest wine festival of the region on the last Saturday in September - In many places
Wine Festival in mostly of the Chianti Villages at the end of September and beginning of October
DECEMBER
- In many places
Christmas Markets
