Costanza Ciattini’s cover illustration for our Summer Issue embodies the fullness of Florence in July and August when urban life acquires an exotic feel in the oppressive heat. It’s a time when we leave the inner city and head for the hills, riverside and rooftops (or leave Florence entirely in favour of cooler climes – see some bus route suggestions on pages 24-25). If you are obliged to stick around, consider this edition as your comprehensive guide to summer in Florence.
Issue 313 – The fullness of summer
BUY THIS ISSUE – The Florentine Summer 2024
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This issue is your comprehensive guide to summer in Florence: rooftops, riversides, alfresco cinema, pools, events and much more.
Start our collage of summer content by turning to pages 16, 17 and 18 for a round up of outdoor summer hangouts (including a newly opened park near piazzale Michelangelo and a list of places showing the Euro 2024 football matches). Find out where to cool down with a swim on page 8 and follow Christine O’Leary’s advice on maintaining balance in extreme heat (page 9). Fancy some alfresco cinema in Florence? Take a look at page 15, while you can recreate the outdoor movie night vibe at home with tips from Erin Quinlan Quiros on page 29. If a rooftop aperitivo is your thing, see our top picks on page 28.
Summer in Florence means a full focus on culture and our bumper events section gives you the lowdown. Parents whose children don’t miss a monster or two might like to check out the Yōkai Japanese prints show at Museo degli Innocenti, while art connoisseurs are encouraged to pay a visit to the Museo Stefano Bardini to view Leonardo Meoni’s velvet works in sync with the sumptuous surroundings of the antiquarian’s museum. Close to our hearts are the just-opened French-American artist’s Louise Bourgeois exhibition at Museo Novecento and the Return Home: Lola Costa at Il Palmerino show in the Fiesole countryside, for which The Florentine Press has released a notebook-style publication called The Curators’ Quaderno, created by Calliope Arts. (If you’re a subscriber, you’ll find the publication included for free with this issue. If not, purchase it from the link below.) For additional reading recommendations, browse page 27 as our friends at The Paperback Exchange, Florence’s independent English bookstore near the Duomo, suggest a few books for the beach.
A Painter’s Florentine Garden: Lola Costa and Il Palmerino
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The Curators’ Quaderno is a collection of notebook-style publications, conceived by Calliope Arts, in collaboration with The Florentine Press, to raise awareness of women’s contributions to the fields of art, science and culture.
Text language: English
Tuscany is noticing a slowdown in tourism with an increase of just 1.2 percent in holidaymakers this summer after 4.2% growth for the first five months of the year. According to a survey conducted by Centro Studi Turistici di Firenze for Toscana Promozione Turistica (the region’s tourism board), hospitality business owners attributed the sluggish growth to price increases, uncertainty linked with conflicts and adverse weather conditions in May. Overtourism continues to be a major concern for our city, however, with visitor figures for the summer expected to be up by 1.5 per cent compared with the same time last year and averaging a stay of just 2.5 days (source: Centro Studi Turistici di Firenze). Please remember to respect the city while enjoying everything Florence has to offer this summer and beyond!
Overtourism is just one of the pressing issues on the agenda for the newly elected Mayor of Florence. Democratic Party candidate and experienced city councillor Sara Funaro becomes the first woman mayor of Florence, defeating right-wing opponent Eike Schmidt by taking just over 60% of the runoff vote. Congratulations to our new Mayor as she settles into office.
