Last updated August 2026. On the evening of 7 September, Florentine children carry homemade paper lanterns on sticks through the city to Piazza Santissima Annunziata, while other children try to shoot them down with peashooters. That is not a joke — the destruction is part of the tradition. It is the least touristed major event in the Florentine calendar, it is free, and it is one of the few things in the city centre that is still genuinely for local families.
The Date and the Route
The Rificolona falls on 7 September every year, the eve of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the 8th. The date is fixed, though the exact programme is published by the city each year and the surrounding weekend sometimes carries additional events.
The evening has two strands that converge. Pilgrims set out in the afternoon from the Sanctuary of Impruneta, in the hills south of the city, and walk in. The city gathering forms around 19:00 in Piazza Santa Felicita, on the Oltrarno side, then crosses the Ponte Vecchio and moves through Piazza della Signoria and Piazza del Duomo before arriving at Piazza Santissima Annunziata. The official opening — authorities' greeting and the blessing of the lanterns — takes place there around 21:30.
What a Rificolona Actually Is
A rificolona is a paper lantern on a stick, lit from inside by a candle, made in whatever shape the maker fancies — traditionally by hand, by children, in the days before. The best are elaborate; most are cheerfully rough. There is a competition on the night for the finest handmade one, judged in the piazza.
The origins are agricultural rather than devotional in any grand sense. From around the mid-seventeenth century, country people from the surrounding hills would walk into Florence overnight for the market held on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, carrying paper lanterns to light the road. The city children mocked their rustic clothes and their lanterns — and the mockery calcified into the tradition of shooting at the lanterns with clay pellets or peashooters, which children still do.
The peashooters are real and the target is the lantern. If you buy a rificolona for a child expecting it to survive the evening, it very likely will not — that is the point of the game, and taking it in good humour is the local etiquette.
How to Do the Evening
There are two ways to attend and they are quite different. You can join the procession from Piazza Santa Felicita at 19:00 and walk the route, which takes you across the Ponte Vecchio at dusk in a slow-moving column of lanterns — visually the best part of the night. Or you can go straight to Piazza Santissima Annunziata and wait for it to arrive, which gets you a better position for the ceremony, the judging and the live music that follows.
| Approach | Where to be | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Walk the procession | Piazza Santa Felicita, 19:00 | Best visuals — lanterns crossing the Ponte Vecchio at dusk |
| Wait at the finish | Piazza Santissima Annunziata, from 20:30 | Better position for the 21:30 blessing, judging and concert |
Children's games and entertainment run in the piazza from around 20:30 while the crowd builds. After the 21:30 opening and blessing come the prize-giving for the best handmade lantern and a concert. The whole thing is over well before midnight.
Lanterns are sold on the night by stalls along the route and around the piazza, so you do not need to bring one. If you want the genuine article rather than a printed one, buy from the stalls near Santissima Annunziata rather than the tourist pitches on the main drag.
Why September Is the Month to Come
7 September lands in what is comfortably Florence's best travel window. The August heat has broken, the peak summer crowds have gone, and the city's own programme is still running — Estate Fiorentina continues into September, so there is outdoor cinema and music either side of the Rificolona.
It also contrasts usefully with Florence's two loud set pieces. San Giovanni on 24 June is fireworks and a 27-a-side brawl in Piazza Santa Croce; the Scoppio del Carro at Easter is a detonating cart. The Rificolona is the quiet one — a slow walk with candles, and the only Florentine festival where the crowd is mostly pushchairs. The Florence festival calendar sets out the full year.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Festa della Rificolona?
7 September every year, the eve of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The date is fixed, though the city publishes the detailed programme closer to the day and the surrounding weekend sometimes carries extra events.
What is a rificolona?
A handmade paper lantern carried on a stick and lit from inside by a candle. Children traditionally make their own in the days beforehand, and a prize is awarded on the night for the best handmade one.
Where does the Rificolona procession go?
The city gathering forms in Piazza Santa Felicita around 19:00, then crosses the Ponte Vecchio and passes through Piazza della Signoria and Piazza del Duomo to reach Piazza Santissima Annunziata, where the official opening and blessing take place around 21:30. Pilgrims also walk in from the Sanctuary of Impruneta.
Why do children shoot at the lanterns?
It comes from the festival's origins. Country people walked into Florence overnight for the market on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, carrying lanterns to light the way, and city children mocked their rustic appearance. The mockery became the tradition of shooting at the lanterns with peashooters, which children still do.
Is the Rificolona worth attending?
It is the least touristed of Florence's major events and free to attend, with a crowd that is mostly local families. It is a quiet, atmospheric evening rather than a spectacle — if you want Florence's loud set pieces, San Giovanni on 24 June or the Easter Scoppio del Carro are the ones to target.
