EVENTS IN TUSCANY, FEBRUARY

LATE JANUARY & EARLY FEBRUARY

Carnival time! Rain time! Carnival is celebrated throughout Italy from the middle of January until 'Martedi Grasso', the day before Ash Wednesday. The most celebrated carnevale is the one in Viareggio which is certainly the largest in Italy - it also claims to be the oldest, although Arezzo also has claims on that crown - and is probably the largest in Europe.
Every Sunday the seafront at Viareggio is host to the enormous parade of enormous floats - constructed from papier-mâché, these carri are animated, complicated and often cruelly cynical of Italian politicians and celebrities.
Most small towns and villages throughout Tuscany have some sort of carnival celebration, with costumes, confetti and traditional food and drink.

MONTHLY MARKETS/FAIRS

LUCCA has a large antiques market (centred around Piazza San Giusto and Piazza Antelminelli) on the third Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month. There is also a craft fair, again in and around Piazza San Giusto, on the last Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month.

AREZZO has an enormous antiques market on the first Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month, centred around Piazza Grande and Piazza Vasari.

FLORENCE has its antique market on the last Sunday of every month in Piazza dei Ciompi.

FEBRUARY 14TH - SAINT VALENTINE

Legend has it that an ancient Roman Emperor decided that marriage caused problems with his soldiers' fighting abilities - I'm saying nothing - and that the turbulent priest Valentino was brave enough to carry on with illicit marriage ceremonies. He was beheaded on February 14th for his pains.
Mind you, another version holds it that he encouraged the rise of (still outlawed) Christianity by the carrying out of religious marriage ceremonies, or that he was a latter-day agony aunt who had the habit of offering flowers from his garden to troubled couples. Take your pick, buy some chocolates and don't listen to the doubters who suggest that San Valentino never actually existed.