Ephiphany in Florence

The 2017 Ephiphany is on Friday giving an excellent opportunity to spend a long week-end in Florence. If the beauties of the city are not enough to choose it as destination we suggest some events that for sure it will catch your attention.

I Love Shopping:  5th January  all shops open the SALES! 60 days to take advantage of the special deals offered by the main fashion brands, first of all the luxury brands.

The Three Wise Men Ride:  6 January 2017 departure from Piazza Pitti at 2.00 pm arrival in Duomo square at  3.30 pm. To celebrate the Ephyphany the Opera of Santa Maria del Fiore organizes in Florence the historic remembrance of the Three Wise Men Ride. The Magi, dressed with sumptuous silk garments inspired by the famous fresco of Benozzo Gozzoli (hosted in the Magi’s Chapel inside the Medici-Riccardi Palace) open the procession coposed by 700 people. The procession will cross the historical city centre to reach the Duomo Square, where the Three Wise Men are going to put down their gifts at the Nativity scene. After the speech of Franco Lucchesi, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore president, it will follow the Magi’s Gospel reading and the cardinal Giuseppe Betori greeting.

The Three Wise Men Ride dates back to a tradition of the 15th cent. when in Florence a laic company entitled to the Saint Magi organized the Magi’s Feast with the procession of 3 different groups coming from different part of the city that met them in front of the Baptistery and went ahead together till Sam Marco Church, where with prays and choirs venerated Jesus, the baby. The most famous member of Medici’s Family were part of this Company and when the Medici’s Family were banish from Florence in 1494 the feast was cancelled for many, many years.

Native Scenes and Santa’s Village exhibited in the Rivoli Boutique Hotel: untill 8th January the Rivoli Boutique Hotel will host the exhibition of Claudio Ladurini Native Scenes and the Santa Claus Village. Free entrance from 11.00 am to 11.00 pm all days.The Rivoli Boutique Hotel (Via della Scala, 33), for the 5th consecutive year, hosts in its meeting room this exhibition with the aim to welcome in its lobbies not only the tourists but also the florentine visitors. This year the project is extended to another lobby where it’s prepared a real Santa’s Village created by the sicilian internal decorator Salvatore Sciuto, specialized  in Christmas set up.

Skate, ski, glide on the snow along the Arno river: all this is possibile at the Firenze Winter Park opened till 26th February. This place was thought to put together all the ice skating lovers and it’s made by a main indoor ice track, called “Master”, of 18 m. x 38 m. and another one, smaller (10 m. x 20 m.) called  “River”, also this is an indoor track reserved to the youngest and for those that try this activity for the first time. Here it will be possible to practice a new game the “Ice Stock” ideal for all the family.

The 22 rubber boats hooked on the Palazzo Strozzi façade part of the “Ai Weiwei. Libero” exhibition (untill 22nd January): last weeks to visit the first big italian retrospective dedicated to one of the most famous and controversial contemporary artist. This exhibition bacame famous before its opening due to the big red rubber lifeboats hooked to the Strozzi Palace windows. A project that has the aim to catch the attention of the  pubblic on the destiny of refugees who daily risk their life to reach Europe “sailing” across the Mediterranean sea. The installation entitled “Reframe” is due to the personal involvement and responsability of the artist as activist and it represents a big occasion for Florence to catch the attention of the world on the immigration theme through the culture.