Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
C
°
F
°
85
Temperature Chart
July is the hottest,
driest month, with
June and August only
marginally less so.
These are the least
comfortable months
for sightseeing. Choose
late spring or early
autumn for this, when
you can also sit
outside until late.
30
24
75
18
65
12
55
6
45
0
32
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY
Festival dei Popoli
(Nov-Dec)
,
venues throughout Florence
show films in their original
language with Italian subtitles.
Florence Queer Festival
(end
Nov-early Dec)
. Film/arts fes-
tival celebrating gay lifestyles.
Carnevale
(Sundays before
Lent, Shrove Tuesday)
,
Viareggio
(see p175)
. A festive
event renowned for its
parades, competitions and
amusing floats, often inspired
by topical themes
(see p38)
.
There are many other
opportunities to enjoy
pre-Lent celebrations, such as
the equally splendid carnival
festivities that take place in
San Gimignano and Arezzo.
WINTER
This can be a good time to
visit Florence and enjoy the
city's museums and churches
in tranquillity. It can be
bitterly cold, but the skies are
blue and the city is often
bathed in golden sunlight,
making this many photogra-
phers' favourite season. All
over Tuscany, town squares
are filled with the aroma of
roasting chestnuts, and in
December, the last of the
olive crop is being harvested
in the southernmost parts.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
New Year's Day
(1 Jan)
Epiphany
(6 Jan)
Easter Sunday & Monday
Liberation Day
(25 Apr)
Labour Day
(1 May)
Republic Day
(2 Jun)
Ferragosto
(15 Aug)
All Saints' Day
(1 Nov)
Immaculate Conception
(8 Dec)
Christmas Day
(25 Dec)
Santo Stefano
(26 Dec)
Roasting chestnuts, Montalcino
Pitti Immagine Uomo
(throughout January)
,
Fortezza da Basso, Florence.
At this prestigious fashion
show, Italian designers and
international couturiers
gather to present their spring
and summer collections for
men. Children's collections
(Pitti Bimbo) are sometimes
presented in January too.
DECEMBER
Fiaccole di Natale
, or Festival
of Christmas Torches
(Christmas Eve)
, Abbadia di
San Salvatore, near Montal-
cino
(see p224)
. Carols and
torchlight processions in
memory of the shepherds
from the first Christmas Eve.
JANUARY
Capodanno
. New Year's Day
is celebrated with gusto all
over Tuscany. There are
firework displays, and volleys
from hunters firing into the
air, and from exploding
firecrackers: all are part of a
ritual to frighten away the
ghosts and spirits of the old
year and welcome in the new.
Florence's Piazza di Santo Spirito in winter - serene and free of crowds
