EVENTS IN TUSCANY, MARCH

MOSTRE DELLE ANTICHE CAMELIE DELLA LUCCHESIA (LUCCA)

Held over three weekends during March, this well established show of Camelias is centred around the village and villas of Pieve di Compito and San Andrea di Compito, a short distance from Lucca. There is a main exhibition, special openings of villas and their gardens, plants for sale, (usually) a tea exhibition and associated displays.

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.

EASTER MORNING, FLORENCE

The 'Scoppio del Carro' or 'Fuoco di Pasqua' - Easter Fireworks - translates roughly to 'explosion of the cart' and is an ancient Florentine spectacle. It goes something like this; one Pazzino dei Pazzi, fresh back from Infidel trouncing in the First Crusade gave the townsfolk of Florence three pieces of flint taken from the statue of Santo Sepolcro that he had been given in recognition of his bravery in being first over the walls of Jerusalem. He instructed that a carousel of fireworks should be lit using these flints, and that the resultant spectacle would spread the word of Christianity to all that saw it.
The carousel seen today is a far more ornate affair than the original, still in posession of the Pazzi family. Easter morning sees the cart and symbolic holy fire arrive in the cathedral square, and as Gloria is said inside the Duomo, a dove descends a wire attached to the high altar and ignites the whole mass of fireworks inside. Vey popular and very busy. It's probably not a real dove.

MARCH 8TH - FESTA DELLA DONNE

Women of Italy rejoice - it's your one day off a year! Women everywhere are presented with sprays of Mimosa, and every restaurant in the land has a special womens' night. Business as usual the next day, as women spend most of the day trying to remove last traces of the vivid yellow mimosa pollen.