Events in Florence, Italy
This October, Florence fills with opera, concerts and exhibitions, and the listing runs into mid-November. Romanzo Criminale, a new opera by Nicola Piovani, opens at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on 23 October, 50 Days of Cinema fills Teatro La Compagnia from 6 October and the Christmas Market returns to Piazza Santa Croce on 14 November. Kid Yugi and Willie Peyote play in October, Candlelight concerts honour Ennio Morricone and Hans Zimmer on 14 November, and the Three Tenors sing from 20 October. At the museums, Broken is on at Palazzo Strozzi and Artemisia Gentileschi arrives at the Museo degli Innocenti on 21 October.
Official Florence events in October
The festivals and public events below are the ones on Florence's official events calendar for the month, and each card links the organiser's listing with its dates and venue. For the permanent sights, start with tourist attractions in Florence.
50 Days of Cinema
When: 6 October to 10 December
Where: Teatro La Compagnia and other venues across the city
Back-to-back film festivals fill the autumn, from Middle East Now and the Fan Hua Chinese Film Festival to France Odeon and the Festival dei Popoli.
FAI Autumn Days
When: 10 and 11 October
Where: Palazzo Gualfonda and other sites across Florence
The Italian Heritage Trust opens monuments and places in the city, among them the Banca d'Italia palace, with free events and special openings.
Firenze Flower Show
When: 10 and 11 October
Where: Giardino Corsini
A plant fair for rare and unusual species brings exhibitors from across Italy to the garden, with gardening workshops for adults and children.
Romanzo Criminale
When: 23 to 31 October
Where: Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Nicola Piovani's new opera, drawn from Giancarlo De Cataldo's bestselling novel, is staged by Massimo Popolizio across four performances.
The Swan Lake
When: 24 October
Where: Teatro Verdi
A new production of Tchaikovsky's ballet uses artificial intelligence to create the castle, forest and lake, with international guest artists.
Christmas Market in Piazza Santa Croce
When: 14 November to 20 December
Where: Piazza Santa Croce
More than fifty stalls in wooden houses sell handicrafts and traditional foods from all over Europe, with entertainment planned for children.
Florence gigs and festivals
Kid Yugi, Anche gli Eroi Muoiono Tour
Kid Yugi, Anche gli Eroi Muoiono Tour plays Mandela Forum on 15 October at 21:00.
The Jazz Room: omaggio a Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong
The Jazz Room: omaggio a Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong comes to Combo Social Club on 18 October at 18:00.
Italian Opera Concert
Italian Opera Concert comes to the former Santa Monaca church on 19 October at 21:15.
The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
The Four Seasons by Vivaldi comes to Auditorium Santa Croce al Tempio on 19 October at 21:00.
Three Tenors - Nessun Dorma
Three Tenors - Nessun Dorma comes to Cattedrale dell'Immagine on 20 October at 20:30.
Willie Peyote, Club Tour 2026
Willie Peyote, Club Tour 2026 plays Teatro Cartiere Carrara (ex Tuscany Hall) on 30 October at 21:00.
Aiello
Aiello plays Teatro Cartiere Carrara (ex Tuscany Hall) on 11 November at 21:00.
Candlelight: Ennio Morricone e altre colonne sonore
Candlelight: Ennio Morricone e altre colonne sonore comes to Teatro Niccolini on 14 November at 17:30.
Candlelight: Tributo a Hans Zimmer
Candlelight: Tributo a Hans Zimmer comes to Teatro Niccolini on 14 November at 21:30.
Art exhibitions and museum shows in Florence
Broken. The Power of the Fragment
Dates: 25 September to 24 January 2027
Where: Palazzo Strozzi
Palazzo Strozzi explores the fragment across art history, from ancient sculpture to contemporary work, in a show with the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Beyond the Renaissance. Between Dürer and Parmigianino
Until: 5 January 2027
Where: Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Sixteenth-century prints and drawings by Dürer, Parmigianino and their contemporaries, drawn largely from the collection of the artist Georg Baselitz.
St Francis of Assisi and Giuseppe Nicola Nasini
Dates: 24 September to 31 January 2027
Where: Palazzo Medici Riccardi
For the 800th anniversary of the saint's death, four large canvases by Nasini return to Florence and trace the devotion and patronage of Cosimo III de' Medici.
Victor Man at Museo Novecento
Dates: 26 September to 7 March 2027
Where: Museo Novecento
A leading contemporary painter of the Cluj School shows about 25 paintings on motherhood, self-portraiture and the female figure.
Artemisia Gentileschi in Florence
Dates: 21 October to 4 April 2027
Where: Museo degli Innocenti
The show follows Artemisia Gentileschi through her Florentine years from 1612, setting her paintings beside works by Cristofano Allori and Francesco Furini.
Dante's Inferno, Immersive Experience
Until: 15 November
Where: Cattedrale dell'Immagine
Projections, interactive installations and rooms such as the Dark Wood and the Mirror Room turn the Divine Comedy into a journey through Hell.
Firenze '50 '60 '70. Images from the Foto Locchi Archive
Until: 18 October
Where: Villa Bardini
Photographs from the Foto Locchi archive trace three decades of Florentine life, from post-war reconstruction to the boom years and the 1966 flood.
Florence tickets and tours
National and local holidays in Florence
Public holidays change the rhythm of a visit more than most travellers expect. Museums and civic buildings move to holiday timetables, many shops close and public transport runs a reduced service, so a day built around a single museum can fall flat. Italy fixes its public holidays by law rather than by region, so the calendar that applies in Florence is the national one, with a single day added for the patron saint of the city. The law also counts every Sunday as a public holiday, which is why Easter Sunday, on 5 April 2026, is not listed separately below. One date is new this year, 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which returns to the statutory list after fifty years and falls on a Sunday in 2026.
National holidays in Italy 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day (Capodanno)
- 6 January Epiphany (Epifania)
- 6 April Easter Monday (Lunedì dell'Angelo)
- 25 April Liberation Day (Festa della Liberazione)
- 1 May Labour Day (Festa del Lavoro)
- 2 June Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica)
- 15 August Assumption of Mary (Ferragosto)
- 4 October Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francesco d'Assisi)
- 1 November All Saints' Day (Ognissanti)
- 8 December Immaculate Conception (Immacolata Concezione)
- 25 December Christmas Day (Natale)
- 26 December Saint Stephen's Day (Santo Stefano)
Local holidays in Florence 2026
- 24 June Saint John the Baptist (San Giovanni Battista), local
The three city offices publish their own rule for these dates. The Firenze Welcome Center and the via Cavour office both open on Sundays and public holidays, at 09:00 to 17:30 and 09:00 to 14:00 respectively, and the official site names 25 December and 1 January as the only days on which they close. On 24 June the city marks its patron saint with a morning procession through the historic centre, the final of the Calcio Storico and a fireworks display in the evening, so the streets around the Arno are far busier than on an ordinary Wednesday.
Plan the rest of your trip to Florence
Florence in a day and beyond
The Florence guide on Tourist Office runs through a one day itinerary, the landmarks worth booking ahead and what the city offers for free.
Where to get help in Florence
This page maps the official tourist information points in Florence, their opening hours and which public holidays change them.
Italy highlights
Beyond Florence, the country guide gathers Rome, Venice, the Amalfi Coast and the food and festivals worth a longer trip in Italy.