I absolutely love September in Florence. The weather gets a little cooler, the Florentines have returned to town and to work and there is a lively buzz around town. There are lots of events around town, cool art, Vogue’s Fashion night out, truffle sagra, harvest festivals and this girl wishes she could clone herself to take advantage of all the fun things there are to do. This is a fabulous month to be in Tuscany and consider yourself lucky! I will add to this list throughout the month whenever I see cool events, and please – if I missed anything, comment and let me know so I can add to the fun!

• FESTIVAL: September 7th around 8pm. Festa della Rificolona. Annual festival of the lanterns in Florence which commemorates the eve of the birth of the Virgin Mary. Kids carry paper lanterns while other kids actually spit (not kidding) through little straws at other’s lanterns {and your butt}. There is a large fair in Piazza Santissima Annunziata featuring street performers, food vendors, music, and more. Luxury hotel Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni 1 is hosting a pretty fun sounding tour  starting with a cocktail on their rooftop terrace, aperitivo, and 2.5-hour walking tour of Piazza Pitti, Ponte Vecchio and Piazza San Giovanni with our guide who will explain all aspects of the parade while you participate. The tour costs Euro 40.00 per person and includes your own souvenir lantern to carry in the procession. Have fun!

• CLASSICAL MUSIC AND MORE: Events at Limonaia Villa Strozzi throughout September. Here is their Facebook page which they do update regularly.

• APERITIVO & MUSIC: Aperitivo & concert in Villa Bardini. September 10th. This is a really awesome event for those who love classic music! You can listen to Beethoven in one of the most beautiful areas of Florence and enjoy a nice aperitivo afterwards. Only 6 euros! Make your reservation by calling  055 20066206.Villa Bardini
  Costa San Giorgio 2 – Firenze
  Info: 055 20066206 – [email protected]
  Parcheggio gratuito nel Piazzale del Forte Belvedere

• FOOD FESTIVAL: Truffle Food Festival in Girone. From September 5th – 29th. My favorite local sagra is back! The almost-month long food festival an Ataf bus ride away celebrating all things truffle {tarufo in Italiano}. Taglierini al tartufo, Pizza with truffles, bruschetta tartufata – you name it, they probably have spread truffles on it and it normally is very very good. Where? Piazza Pertini in Girone. Take the number 14 bus from Piazza San Marco or the station towards Girone and it’s the last stop. It’s open every night and I recommend going during a week night to skip the weekend rush.  Facebook event page.

• WINE FESTIVAL: 2013 Chianti Classico Wine Festival – 42nd edition. September 5-8th (starts at 5pm on Thursday and the stands will remain open until 8pm}. Greve in Chianti. For 10 euros you can get a glass and participate in a really fun wine tasting at the various stands set up in the main piazza in Greve. I went last year and If I wasn’t participating in a blog tour this year, I would be there again! Also gives you a chance to check out the pretty Tuscany town known best for it’s Chianti Classico wine. Official website. 

• VINTAGE BIKE RUN: September 8th – Pedala Firenze. This awesome organization has organized a non-competitive bike ride for vintage bikes which will follow a route around the city, along the route of the world championships and into the  Florentine hills. There are three different routes and certain criteria required to participate depending on what route/program you choose.

• THERMAL SPA AND MUSIC: SpaJazz – September 7th and the 21 at Antica Querciolaia in Rapolano Terme. 9pm you can enjoy an apericena and dip in the beautiful warm thermal spring of this amazing place all while listening to Jazz music. no seriously, how cool is that! It’s about an hour from Florence and you will need a car. Hopefully you will see me there on the 21 – I would love to go myself!

• OUTDOOR FAIR: Expo Rurale Toscana 2013 – Agriculture Fair at the Fortezza di Basso. September 12-15th. Farmer Joe (Giuseppe is we want to get it right) is back and has brought all of his animal friends with him. This expo is a really fun way to check out some very large farm animals, pick up some local produce, enjoy a glass of wine or beer and just spend a nice Saturday or Sunday feeling a bit like you’re on a farm. Which as you can imagine – would be home for this Texana.

• FASHION NIGHT OUT: September 12th. Vogue’s Fashion Night Out. Really awesome (now annual) fashion festival a bit like notte bianca for fashion taking place all over the historical center. This is my post from last year’s edition. I had a really fabulous time and thought it was quite well-organized so put on your favorite pair of studded skinny jeans, pour yourself a glass of champagne and check it out! I just got the program and map of events – here you go!

• ART: The Russian Avant-garde, Siberia and the East featuring Kandinsky, Malevich, Filonov, Goncharova – exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi, September 27th – January 2014.  The strozzi strikes again – this time hosting a really neat exhibit examining the importance of the Eurasian and oriental connection to Russian modernism. I will absolutely be checking out this exhibit as I usually always impressed with whatever the Strozzi is presenting.

• GRAPE HARVEST FAIR: Festa dell’Uva all’Impruneta – huge fair in nearby town, Impruneta. September 29th with events preceding. This historical fair celebrates the local grape harvest and fortunes for the following year. I had the pleasure of going last year and though it was a rainy day – it was a fun, cool experience to behold! Imagine huge floats with grapes, people dancing, lots of food and wine and general merriment! You may need to purchase tickets ahead of time as they do charge to enter the town center on the float day. http://www.yelp.com/events/impruneta-festa-delluva-allimpruneta. Official Site. 

***

Also I saw these two cool fun options that are available from September onwards

• Visit the Torre di San Niccolo, 3 euros, everyday from 5-8pm – reservation required. Call 055 2768224 – 055 2768558
• Free visit of the historical markets in Florence including the LOGGIA DEL PESCE Piazza dei Ciompi, MERCATO di Sant’Ambrogio, MERCATO Centrale di San Lorenzo, Piazza della Repubblica (ex Piazza del MERCATO VECCHIO) on September 14. Reservation required and call soon, places will go fast! Call 055-2616056 from Monday to Friday, 9 -12pm.