the events not to be missed in Florence (23, 24, 25 and 26 December)
For days now the air has smelled of spices, candied oranges, panettone and pandoro. The festively lit city is more beautiful than ever and for those who will spend December 23rd to 26th in Florence there are many events not to be missed including theatrical performances, museums to visit, exhibitions, concerts, obviously some markets to be able to find the last gifts and how not to mention the Ferris wheel and the skating rink at the Fortezza; but just this week another skating rink will also open in the city. Our guide to Christmas events in Florence.
Christmas market in San Donato
The Christmas market in the shopping center of San Donato this Christmas weekend will also be open and among its 45 wooden houses it will be possible to find delicacies to taste, or to give as gifts, and also artistic handicrafts, jewels and much more.
Green Line
Change the name but not the magic. F-Light, the name by which we have known the Florence Festival of Lights in recent years, will be called this year Green Line. As we had to anticipate, this decision is linked to the current issues of sustainability, ecology, energy saving, care for the environment and heritage. A unique opportunity to see Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Santa Maria Novella illuminated with plays of color and videomapping.
The Ferris wheel
There ferris wheel it is one of the two biggest and most anticipated attractions of this Christmas 2022 and we are sure that it will make you soar: seeing Florence from a height of 55 meters will be a unique experience.
10 things to do in Florence to experience Christmas
The village of Santa Claus in the park of San Donato
Opens a few days before Christmas on Santa Claus Village in the park of San Donato. In front of the entrance to the park in via di Novoli, a stone’s throw from the T2 San Donato-University stop, a new ice rink has been created, an event space and a kiosk where you can refresh yourself with various delicacies and warm up a bit with chocolate or hot, for the older ones, some good mulled wine.
The skating rink, the market and the street food
In addition to the wheel, however, the gardens of the Fortezza da Basso are also animated by the longest ice skating rink in Europe on which both adults and children can have fun. All around there will be the Christmas market with wooden houses and kiosks with street food.
Trees and lights: all the streets and squares of Florence that light up for Christmas 2022
Olafur Eliasson at Palazzo Strozzi
The exhibition visible at Palazzo Strozzi is the largest ever held in Italy by Olafur Eliassion and will allow visitors to immerse themselves in his artistic world through a broad overview of works from his thirty-year activity, but also through new works designed specifically for Palazzo Strozzi. Often using elementary materials such as light, water and fog, Olafur Eliasson is famous for an art that reflects on the idea of perception and in which the viewer is at the center of the experience as an active protagonist. HERE to see the video of the exhibition.
Inside Banksy: Unauthorized Exhibition
Even on holidays it will be possible to visit the immersive exhibition that tells the story of Banksy through a collection of images, sounds and music that evokes the underground culture of Bristol and which also offers an overview of the most secret street artist in the world. “Inside Banksy: Unauthorized Exhibition” will be hosted in the heart of Florence, in the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte, renamed with the name “Cathedral of the Image”. The event is produced by Crossmedia Group with the contribution of Gianni Mercurio.
Attention, to consult: The opening and closing days of the Florentine museums
Palazzo Vecchio opened for the first time at Christmas
Swan lake
The corps de ballet of the Romanian National Theater of Iasi will perform on December 23, 2022 at the Pergola theater with Il Swan Lake. One of the immortal masterpieces of the history of 19th century ballet by Marius Petipa. Represented in 1877 for the first time at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, despite the music by Tchaikovsky, it did not immediately have the success that was later achieved in 1894, the year in which it was staged at the Marijinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
Christmas at Tenax
Christmas at the disco? Why not! The historic Tenax disco has organized an event right on Christmas evening, in the console Francesco Farfa and Alex Neri and other.
The Orchestra della Toscana Christmas concert
The Orchestra della Toscana and the Teatro Verdi come every year to host the beautiful Christmas concert on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The artistic director of the Ord Daniele Rustioni fails to leave the podium of his orchestra of the heart always and only to other colleagues. And on the stage of the Teatro Verdi he returns together with his wife Francesca Dego, a violinist present in the major symphonic and chamber seasons of Europe, the United States and Asia. The Rustioni-Dego couple dedicates themselves to Prokofiev’s Concerto n.2 op.63, a 1935 piece that the composer wrote on the eve of his return to Russia, from which he had emigrated following the October Revolution. For the whole program and more information HERE.
Christmas brunch at the Four Seasons Hotel
The traditional Sunday Brunch dresses up for the party and is offered in three different versions but with the same contagious energy: dessert buffet, visits to the kitchen to discover the funniest dishes behind the scenes of the hotel and lots of good humor to make the days festive even more joyful. Not forgetting Santa Claus is coming for all the children! From 12:30 to 15:00. HERE for prices.
The Circus Medrano
From Christmas until January 8, the Circus arrives Medrano in Florence. The Nelson Mandela Forum will host the artists’ shows. There will also be some of Cirque du Soleil’s top performers in the circus show (sans animals).
The Emergency market
For those who still have to make the last Christmas presents, the emergency market. Hand-woven carpets and inlaid tables made by Afghan artisans, accessories created using recycled materials, artifacts from all over the world, Christmas delicacies and many other gift ideas to guarantee the right to care for those who are victims of war and poverty. These are just some of the Christmas gifts that can be purchased in the Emergency shop. HERE for timetables and information.
The? Double!
Boxing Day of laughter with Paolo Ruffini who is back on stage to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The? Double!, the cult show that made him famous with the Cuckoo’s Nest. The Teatro Verdi, now the artist’s second home, is confirmed as a classic and essential appointment with the Tuscan public.
Peppa Pig
A Stefano Dedicated to the little ones with the show by Peppa Pig. The cartoon world of adorable little Peppa, the character of one of the most popular children’s TV series, lands for the first time in the theaters of our country after a huge success throughout Europe with thousands of tickets sold.
Christmas Carol
For three days starting from Santo Stefano, the Puccini theater hosts the show Christmas Carol. An all-time classic: the famous Dickens story in a staging that enhances its gothic and fairy-tale flavor: a Christmas fairy tale full of humour, warmth and suspense.
Yes, son stones
Back 150 years, Florence, capital of Italy: the architect Giuseppe Poggi is grappling with the “recovery” of the city. We have to tear down the old walls and the ghetto, to design new neighborhoods, the avenues… From here the actors Alessandro Riccio and Gianmaria Vassallo leave to “Yes, son of stones!”exhilarating theatrical-musical show scheduled from 26 at the new Theater of Fiesole, on the hills of Florence.