Festa della Rifcolona – Festival of the Paper Lantern
The Festa della Rifcolona, or the festival of lanterns is a long lasting tradition of Florence. The roots of the festival are based on the Christian tradition of celebrating the birthday of Santissima Annunziata. The farmers would come into Florence but often leave before dawn—carrying paper lanterns at the end of a stick with a candle inside. Today, Florentines gather with their beautiful paper lanterns to celebrate this ancient tradition. Don’t miss this breathtaking experience and truly feel like a local in your new city.
When: Friday September 7th from 9:00pm in Piazza Santissima Annuziata
Gelato Festival
The Gelato Festival at Piazzale Michelangelo is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Featuring the best of the best, this festival is fill of delicious and unique treats, competition, and fun! When you purchase a ticket, it not only gives you access to the festival, but also the chance to try these out of the box flavors and you even get to cast your vote for the best gelato. Help your favorite gelato artisan go onto the world competition: Gelato Festival World Masters 2021. Get to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity to try the very best gelato in the world!
When: September 14th-16th from 12pm-8pm in Piazzale Michelangelo
Wanderlust
This is not your typical triathlon. Wanderlust is a triathlon that will help you feel healthy, get you active, and find your inner zen—that’s right, there’s yoga involved. Start by checking in early, setting up your mat and grabbing a coffee. Once the triathlon is ready to start, the first leg of this event is with a 5K run…or walk, it’s up to you. Then, get on your mat and get into the flow of yoga. This yoga session up beat with a DJ lead by the top instructors. Finally, find you center with a meditation session. After the triathlon, stick around for lunch, or visit their popup shop with adidas. This is just what you need for a fun day of being active so you can keep eating all the pasta and gelato you want!
When: September 23rd from 7:30am-4:30pm in the Cascine Park
* Check out our facebook group for discounts that are exclusive to Campus Florence members and can’t be posted publicly.
Carro Matto
Carro Matto which literally translates to “crazy cart” is the celebration of the arrival of wine from the nearby area of Chianti Rufina. While the fiasco (traditional bottles with woven straw on the base) were made in Florence, the wine itself was made outside in the countryside. The “crazy” cart shows how the bottles were masterly weaved into a pyramid to safely transport them into the city. There are over 2,000 bottles of wine on the cart. The cart will arrive from the countryside carrying the new wines for the year. The celebrations will include an appearance from Florence’s flag throwers dressed in medieval costume. And rumor has it that they then offer the wine to the people of Florence!!
When: Saturday September 29th, Piazza Duomo at 3:30pm/Piazza Signoria at 4:30pm
Corri La Vita
Be like a local and join the Corri La Vita race. This is an incredible event that helps raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. With your entry, you get to walk or run the race, get a t-shirt that are sought after by locals, and enjoy the beautiful city of Florence in a completely new way. There are two different path options participants can take, an 6.5 miles which takes you from the Cascine, alongside the Lungarno, reaches the Piazzale Michelangelo and passes from Piazza Duomo and then ends in the same square starting point. The shorter option at 3.5 miles takes you over the Boboli Gardens and then returns to the park starting from the Santa Trinita bridge.Get active, help your new community, and really become one with Firenze.
When: Sunday September 30th, Piazza Vittorio Veneto at 9:00am
Campus Florence 