Cosimo I’s Grand Move Pageant for the 500th Anniversary Year Celebration

Historical pageants are a grand show, full of luxurious costumes, buglers, and horse-riding nobles. On May 11, as part of the celebrations for the 500th anniversaries of Cosimo I and Catherine de Medici’s birth, a historical pageant will parade down the streets of historical Florence.

This event symbolizes the move from Palazzo Medici on Via Cavour to Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria on May 15, 1540. The pageant will travel from Palazzo Medici Riccardi to Piazza Signoria starting at 5:30 pm and will arrive in the piazza where the mayor of Florence will be present, a little after 6 pm.  The duke and duchess will be accompanied by members of their courts, both Florentine and Spanish, in full historical regalia. There will be around 200 people involved in the parade.

The path taken will trace the path from Palazzo Medici, Via Cavour, Via Martelli, Piazza Duomo, Via Calzaiuoli, ending at Piazza della Signoria. Get there early to get a good standing spot.

The pageant isn’t the only anniversary date that will be held. Following the parade, at 9 pm in Palazzo Vecchio, there will be a historical reenactment of the early life of Cosimo I, when he was 17 years old and had just ascended to dukedom. This particular event is not free, unlike the parade. Anyone above the age of 25 must pay €16.50, between the ages of 18 and 25 is €13.20, while children under 18, interpreters, and guides don’t have to pay. There will be an added fee of €5.00 for non-city residents and €2.50 for city residents. Members of Unicoop Firenze have a two-for-one ticket deal. (katy rose sparks)