A quick guide to Easter 2019 in Florence

A quick guide to Easter 2019 in Florence

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Thu 18 Apr 2019 6:29 AM

From the religious rites of the Christian Holy Week to museum openings and myriad traditions, here is a roundup of what to do on this busy Easter 2019 weekend in Florence. (We’ll update this article as more information is confirmed. If you’re organizing an event or English language worship service you don’t see featured here, drop us a line at events@theflorentine.net). 

 

Easter weekend religious services in English

St. Mark’s English Church (Anglican). Via Maggio 16, tel. 055/294764
Maundy Thursday, April 18: Mass, 7pm
Good Friday, April 19: Three Hours Devotion, 12noon-3pm; Good Friday concert, 7pm
Holy Saturday, April 20: Vigil and first mass of Easter, 8pm
Easter Sunday, April 21: Sung high mass, 10.30am

 

St. James Church (Episcopalian). Via B. Rucellai 9, tel. 055/294417
Maundy Thursday, April 18: Eucharist, foot washing and stripping of the altar, 6.30pm
Good Friday, April 19: Liturgy and veneration of the cross, 12noon and 6.30pm
Holy Saturday, April 20: Great Vigil and First Mass of Easter with baptism, 6.30pm
Easter Sunday, April 1: Eucharist at 9am and 11am. After the 11am service, a reception and Easter egg hunt will take place. 

  

Santi Apostoli
 (Catholic). Piazza del Limbo 1, tel. 339/2425734
Holy Thursday, April 18: Mass, 7pm, with adoration until midnight
Good Friday, April 19: Celebration of the Passion, 6pm; Via Crucis, 8.30pm
Holy Saturday, April 20: Easter vigil in English, 7pm
Easter Sunday, April 21: Mass, 10.30am 
 
International Christian Fellowship of Florence. Via dei Biffi 1, tel. 055/285148
Thursday, April 18: Special Easter week Prayer and Praise service, 7pm
Easter Sunday, April 21: Pre-service breakfast gathering, 8.30-9.30am; Easter Sunday service, 10.15am

Don’t see your church listed? Contact events@theflorentine.net to share your Easter week service schedule.

 
 
 

Pageantry in piazza Duomo: the Scoppio del Carro

Arguably Florence’s most famous Easter-morning ritual, the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart) always draws a crowd. Every year the “Brindellone”—an intricate, colorful, fireworks-filled cart stored in a warehouse on via il Prato during the “off-season”—is paraded through downtown Florence, arriving in front of Santa Maria del Fiore in piazza del Duomo at approximately 10am. Ceremonious celebration continues outdoors until a crucial moment in the cathedral mass, when a dove-shaped rocket called the colombina is lit and set off into the square. The culmination comes when the colombina hits the cart and puts the pyrotechnics into motion. Get to piazza del Duomo extra early (we suggest 9.30-10am) if you want to catch more than camera phones and smoke remnants in your line of vision!

 


Museums: special hours throughout Easter weekend

State museums
Normally closed on Mondays, most of Florence’s state museums now open their doors to visitors and residents on Pasquetta, Easter Monday, which this year lands on April 22. At publication of this article, the following openings have been confirmed.

Bargello Museum group: Museo Nazionale del Bargello open on Easter (April 21) and Pasquetta (April 22) from 8.15am-5pm both days; Medici Chapels open 8.15am-2pm on Easter, 8.15am-6pm on Pasquetta; Palazzo Davanzati open 1.15-7pm on Easter, 8.15am-2pm on Pasquetta; Casa Martelli open 9am-2pm on Easter; Orsanmichele church open 10am-5pm on Easter and Pasquetta, first-floor museum open from 10am-4.50pm on Pasquetta.
Uffizi Gallery. 8.15am-6.50pm on Easter and Pasquetta. Ticket office closes at 6pm. 
Palazzo Pitti museums. 8.15am-6.50pm on Easter; closed on Pasquetta except for Boboli Gardens
Boboli Gardens. 8.15am-6.30pm on Easter and Pasquetta. Last admission one hour before closing.

 

 

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