Florence celebrates its patron saint, San Giovanni, on June 24 and the day is a local holiday. Florentine merchants close up their shops in anticipation of evening activities. The city has long marked the Festa di San Giovanni with a traditional parade through the centre, a Calcio Storico match in Piazza Santa Croce, and, later in the evening, a fireworks display over the Arno. Records of the first celebrations of San Giovanni as the city’s patron saint date back to the fourteenth century, when the Baptistery of San Giovanni and the surrounding piazza were the heart of Florence’s religious and political life. The best place to see the fireworks is along the Lungarno or from one of three most centrally located bridges.
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