Artigianato & Palazzo

As Good as Bread

The dawn of Italian fashion

The Buontalenti icecream flavor

Pizza to your doorstep

La schiacciata

Discovering San Lorenzo

When business and beauty go hand in hand

Gerard Loft

Why Murano?

Gabs

Angela Caputi's Giuggiù

Old Florentine jewellery

il Bisonte

Collecting in Florence Art and Crafts

Ugo & Carolina

Furla

Furla

Where to shop?

Collecting in Florence

Riguccio Mulas

The feast of St. John the Baptist

The Patron Saint
[Susan Glasspool]

The celebrations for the Feast Day of the Patron Saint of Florence, St. John the Baptist on June 24th start in the morning with a parade in historic costume that departs from Palazzo Vecchio to reach the Baptistery where the Archbishop celebrates Mass, followed by second Mass in the Cathedral.
The traditional fireworks over the Arno mark a high spot in the day and replace the festive fires once lit for the summer solstice. The street lamps along the Arno are turned off at around 9.30pm and for about an hour all the city’s inhabitants look upwards to enjoy the show. Originally set off in Piazza della Signoria, they were moved to Piazzale Michelangelo for security reasons.
This magnificent firework display is always very popular among the Florentines, who crowd the bridges and the banks of the Arno on the evening of June 24th to enjoy what they consider their own special event, though afterwards they are quite capable of saying that the fireworks were not as fine as the year before!


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