I will be in Florence over Easter with my girlfriend. We would like to know what sites to anticipate will be open that day and Monday. Since these are both national holidays, we don't expect that many places will be open. We were hoping though that there would be some fun and interesting activities related to Easter that we could enjoy. We would also like to attend mass on Easter. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
David and Carol
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Florence has a traditional Easter Sunday festival called the Scoppio del Carro. A huge crowd gathers in front of the Duomo. Brass bands in medieval uniforms march into the square. A huge decorated wagon full of fireworks is brought into the square by oxen. After mass a dove-shaped rocket flies into the cart from inside the cathedral, setting off all the fireworks. Then there's a parade. The whole thing is extremely colorful and fun. We stumbled on it by accident while out on an early morning walk a few Easters ago. If you want to see it, be sure you're in the square EARLY. It becomes wall-to-wall people by about 9 AM. Google "Scoppio del Carro" for all the info.
Posted by
Cartersville, GA, USA
101 posts
However, on Monday, major museums will be closed. So you may experience special activities in Florence for Easter, but some of Florence's best sights will be inaccessible if that is your only time to sightsee. A few things are open on Mondays, but not Accademia and Uffizi.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2 posts
Thanks for both of the replys. We are excited that we will be there for Scoppio del Carro. We have been told that the museums will be open Easter Sunday. We were surprised by that but it does help us plan. We thought we would do a Tuscany tour on Monday since most sites will be closed. We also have most of Tuesday available in Florence. Thanks again.