March 23, 2026

Florentine New Year. What it is and why it is celebrated on March 25

Our city has its own start of the year: we reveal its origins and special initiatives to celebrate

Many people do not know that on March 25 the city of Florence celebrates the Florentine New Year. The City has included this date in the annual calendar of popular festivals and traditions and official celebrations.

From the Middle Ages until 1750, in fact, this was the day on which the Church recalled the announcement of the Incarnation received from the Virgin Mary and was taken as the beginning of the civil calendar.

In the Tuscan capital this was the date on which New Year's Day was celebrated, even when in the rest of Italy the Gregorian calendar was already in force, according to which the year began on January 1st.

While the states conformed to this religious dictate, Florence, linked to the Marian cult, decided not to abandon the feast of March 25. This recurrence for the Florentines will last for 168 years and will cease in the month of November 1750, when a decree of Grand Duke Francis II of Lorraine imposed the use of the Gregorian calendar, fixing also for Florence the beginning of the year on January 1 (under the Loggia dei Lanzi there is the plaque that commemorates the decree of the suppression of the feast).

A celebration that has symbolically survived until today and that also unites us with some of our "neighbors". A hundred kilometers away, under the Leaning Tower, the Pisan New Year is celebrated on the same day (but in "advance" of 365 days).

Nowadays, this ancient New Year's Eve remains the oldest tradition, officially revived by the Municipality of Florence since 2000 with the parade of the historical procession of the Florentine Republic from the Palagio di Parte Guelfa to Santissima Annunziata, the main Marian shrine of the city.

The symbol of the festival is in fact the fresco depicting the Annunciation, kept inside the basilica, where once the peasants went on pilgrimage to pay homage to the effigy of the Annunciation, on which there is a legend.

The work would be miraculous: it is said that the painter, a certain friar Bartolomeo, could not complete the scene because he was not able to portray the features of the Madonna's face. To finish the masterpiece - always according to the myth - would have been a prodigious hand, that of angels.

Fiorentino Week 2026: All the Events You Won’t Want to Miss

From March 21 to 29, Fiorentino Week returns to Florence, featuring a packed calendar of events celebrating the Florentine New Year on March 25, one of the city’s most distinctive traditions. Organized by the City of Florence, this fifth edition involves museums, historic shops, cultural institutions, and urban spaces with a program spanning art, craftsmanship, history, and gastronomy. A unique opportunity to rediscover the city’s authentic soul through guided tours, urban walks, fairs, and special openings.

The Art of Perfume and Artisanal Tradition

On March 23 and 24, at the AquaFlor Firenze atelier, housed in the historic Palazzo Corsini Antinori Serristori, visitors can immerse themselves in the art of artistic perfumery. During the tours (at 10–11 a.m. and 3–4 p.m.), the history of fragrances is traced from Renaissance spice shops to the figure of Caterina de’ Medici, who helped spread perfume throughout Europe. The tour also includes an olfactory room with hundreds of essences and an overview of the creative process behind a perfume.

On March 25, the focus shifts to leatherworking with tours of the Galleria Michelangelo, in Piazza Santa Croce, inside the historic Palazzo Pepi. Here, visitors can observe up close traditional techniques of leatherworking, bookbinding, and the restoration of antique books, as well as the creation of the typical Florentine leather.

Fairs, workshops, and creative Florence

Craftsmanship will also take center stage in public spaces with Florence Arte fairs and market exhibitions, scheduled for:

March 25 (8:00 AM – 7:30 PM)
March 27 and 29 (10:00 AM – 7:00 PM)
March 28 and 29 (10:00 AM – 8:00 PM)

A journey through fashion accessories, handmade items, leather goods, and typical local products.

On March 27, thanks to Firenze Creativa, several historic workshops will open exceptionally to the public (3:00 PM – 7:00 PM) with guided tours and events dedicated to the artisanal trades that have defined Florentine identity for centuries.

The program for March 23: art and discovery

March 23 offers a packed calendar of events:

Participatory installation “Il Grande Pinocchio” in Piazza Santa Croce
Heritage walk to San Miniato (departing from Torre San Niccolò)
Guided tours of the Palazzo Vecchio Museum
Access to the archaeological excavations of ancient Florentia
Visits to the Michelangelo Gallery
Opening of Porta San Frediano
Activities at MAD – Murate Art District

March 24: open museums and new perspectives

Special opening of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno
(10 a.m.–1 p.m. / 2 p.m.–5 p.m.), founded in 1563 by Cosimo I de’ Medici and Giorgio Vasari
Photography walk in the Rose Garden with photographer Duccio Ricciardelli (3:00 PM)
Guided tour of the “La Specola” Natural History Museum (2:30 PM)
Activities in the Florentine Civic Museums, including Palazzo Vecchio
The Florentine Historical Cassettai will be present between Piazza San Giovanni and Piazza della Signoria, offering gifts to visitors

The day concludes with the Florentine New Year’s Eve Banquet at the Torrino Santa Rosa and with celebratory dinners at restaurants throughout the city.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi: events blending history and entertainment

The Metropolitan City of Florence is participating with three special events at Palazzo Medici Riccardi:

March 25 (10 a.m.): conference on the restoration of the palace’s facades
March 25 (3–4:30 p.m. : symbolic-alchemical tours of Benozzo Gozzoli’s “Cavalcade of the Magi”
March 26 (8:30 p.m.): theatrical performance “La Congiura dei Pazzi” by the Compagnia delle Seggiole

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