April 21-25
Florence’s long standing tradition of top-quality artisanal ice-cream is celebrated in this five-day festival dedicated to gelato in all its forms (including frozen cocktails), which takes over the lanes and piazzas of the centro storico for five days in May.
Mid-June to end of July
Climb the hill to the lovely town of Fiesole for a host of performing arts events, many in open-air venues, from jazz in the Roman theatre to classical concerts in the Basilica of Sant’Alessandro.
Estate al Bargello
August and September
This regular summer festival brings a plethora of music, theatre and dance offerings to the atmospheric setting of the Bargello Museum, whose Medieval courtyard is turned into an open-air auditorium for the occasion. At the time of writing the 2015 programme had not been announced, but with the remit covering jazz, classical, electronic music and other genres there’s usually something here for most musical tastes.
This regular summer festival brings a plethora of music, theatre and dance offerings to the atmospheric setting of the Bargello Museum
50 giorni di Cinema Internazionale
October to December
A raft of autumn festivals and other cinematic events in Florence come together under the ‘50 Days of International Cinema’ banner. Top draws include the Festival dei Popoli documentary festival in November and the River to River Indian film festival in early December. Many events centre on the historic Odeon cinema in Piazza Strozzi.