Wednesday, June 3 will mark the official end of lockdown in Italy. Although particular practices will continue to be regulated, it will now be possible to travel among regions within Italy, as well as throughout the European Union, and the Schengen area including Switzerland and the United Kingdom. However, travel to and from non-EU and non-Schengen countries––except for urgent work or health reasons––will not resume until Tuesday, June 16. In addition to [...]
Until June 2, 2020: PLANT & FLOWER MARKET. Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 4. Open 8 am – 8 pm. Free admission. It’s finally time to visit the Giardino dell’Orticoltura for the Tuscan Society of Horticulture’s Spring 2020 Plant and Flower fair. The market features 60 specialist vendors offering a wide selection of plants, flowers, vases, outdoor furniture and more. This annual event happens to be taking place a month late due to the Coronavirus [...]
This year the 14th edition of the Festival of Writers will engage the public from May 26 through May 28, despite the pandemic putting this singular literary Florentine festival online. The author conversations (which will take place in each novelist’s and guest’s native language complemented by Italian subtitles) and other happenings of the three-day festival are set to be streamed via the Santa Maddalena Foundation’s Youtube channel, as well as the Casa del [...]
Overseen by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the Florence Duomo complex will reopen after the Coronavirus lockdown on Friday, May 22. Florence Cathedral, the Duomo Museum, the Bell Tower (Campanile) and the Baptistery will be accessible on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only in addition to la Festa di San Giovanni (a local holiday on June 24) with an online reservation which includes free admission through May 31. Entrance to the Cupola (booking through the website [...]
The Cinema Odeon’s film offerings will now be accessible online starting Monday, May 18, 2020. Florence’s historic theatre in Piazza Strozzi has decided not to wait until June 2020 to resume its programming. Audiences can purchase viewing on the MioCinema platform, one that requires registration—which is free—to log in. To watch a new or newish release will cost €7, films from the Odeon archives will cost between €2,99 and 3,99. The movies [...]
‘Phase 2’ of the Coronavirus crisis begins on May 4, which sees the loosening of some of the lockdown restrictions in strict compliance with safety protocols. Apart from going out of the house for the reasons of work, health or grocery shopping, one can visit relatives, keeping in mind a minimum distance of at least one meter (3.2 ft.). Construction sites and manufacturers can reopen, as well as companies that export at least [...]
This Saturday, April 25, Italians observe the 75th anniversary of liberation from Nazi-fascism. Liberation Day, usually celebrated throughout the country in piazzas and pavilions, will be honored, Coronavirus nonetheless. The limitations due to the health emergency have not prevented Italians from remembering one of the events that deeply marked recent history. Here is the official April 25 events program. 9:30 am: Florentine mayor Dario Nardella will place a wreath on the monument to [...]
Despite the Coronavirus lockdown, the British Institute’s Wednesday lectures in English at 6 pm are continuing. Guests can watch and comment the talks online using the Zoom video conferencing platform (meeting ID: 276 957 5320, password: 970164). On April 22, the following topics will be examined: why did Florentine Renaissance painters execute portraits of women like the Mona Lisa? What was the real reason for fresco cycles in the great Florentine churches [...]
The ordinance that everyone must wear a face mask in public in the city of Florence will become effective as of Monday, April 20. According to the decree by the Tuscan regional government, which left individual cities and towns free to decide the starting date, a mask must be worn in “spaces, whether indoors or out, open to the public, in the presence of other people while maintaining a minimum distance of one [...]
The British Institute’s resident Art Historian, Jeremy Boudreau will give the lecture: “La Piazza della Santissima Annunziata – A Renaissance Crossway of Faith, Charity and Hope” via the Zoom platform on Wednesday, April 15 at 6 pm (meeting ID: 276 957 5320, password: 970164). This online lecture will offer a virtual guided visit to one of Florence’s many beautiful urban spaces: the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. From the eponymous Servite church and its conspicuous [...]
