Last updated August 2026. 24 June is the one day Florence belongs to Florentines. It is the feast of San Giovanni Battista, the city's patron, and it is also a local public holiday — which means shops shut, offices close, and the city runs a programme that starts with a costumed procession at 08:30 and ends with fireworks over the Arno at 22:00. In between sits the Calcio Storico final, whose ruleset is unlike anything else you will watch. This is the densest single day in the Florentine year and it is almost entirely free.
The Date, and Why It Matters
24 June is fixed and never moves. Celebrations build across the preceding days — the programme typically opens around 21 June — but the 24th itself carries everything that matters. It is a festa del patrono, a local public holiday observed in Florence but not nationally, which is a distinction worth understanding before you plan a day of sightseeing around it.
The practical effect is uneven. Many shops and local businesses close; major museums generally stay open but may run holiday hours. Because it is only a city holiday, trains and national services run normally — you can arrive on the day without difficulty. What you cannot do is treat 24 June as an ordinary Florence day. See the Italian public holiday guide for how patron saint days differ from national closures.
Before 24 June: The Notturna Run and the Marzocco Coronation
Florence's San Giovanni programme does not start on the 24th. Around 21 June the city runs the Notturna di San Giovanni, a 10K night run through the historic centre — the only race of its kind held after dark, open to casual entrants alongside competitive runners.
A day or two later, around 22 June, Piazza della Signoria hosts the coronation of the Marzocco, Donatello's stone lion and the heraldic symbol of the Florentine Republic. A short parade brings the mayor and city officials to the arengario in front of Palazzo Vecchio, where the flag-throwers of the Bandierai degli Uffizi perform before a crown, made by a Florentine goldsmith, is placed on the Marzocco's head. The custom traces back to an older tradition of nobles and guilds donating votive candles, or ceri, to the city's churches ahead of the saint's feast — the root of the candle procession that still opens the 24th itself.
The Shape of the Day
Three set pieces anchor 24 June, spread from early morning to late night. Everything between them is neighbourhood programming — Masses, historical displays, music — that you can dip into or ignore.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Corteo degli Omaggi — costumed procession, ending with the Cross of San Giovanni presented to the mayor | Piazza de' Peruzzi through the centro storico to Piazza della Signoria |
| Afternoon | Calcio Storico final — the 27-a-side historic football final between the winning quartieri | Piazza Santa Croce |
| 22:00 | Fochi di San Giovanni — the fireworks display | Fired from Piazzale Michelangelo, over the Arno |
The fireworks are the part almost everyone comes for, and they are a genuine civic institution: the display is a gift to the city from Fondazione CR Firenze, organised by the Deputazione della Società di San Giovanni Battista, a volunteer body founded in 1796.
The 08:30 Corteo degli Omaggi is followed by a second, candle-bearing procession that reaches Piazza del Duomo around 10:00, where the Archbishop of Florence receives the offering before Holy Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, roughly 10:30. In the afternoon a historical pageant sets off around 16:00 from Piazza Santa Maria Novella and threads through the centre to Piazza Santa Croce ahead of the Calcio Storico kickoff. The four historic quartieri each field a team — Santa Croce in blue, Santo Spirito in white, Santa Maria Novella in red, and San Giovanni in green — and the two sides that won their semi-finals meet in this final.
The Calcio Storico final and the fireworks are on the same day, which is the single most useful fact about 24 June. If you want both, the final needs a ticket bought in advance while the fireworks need only a good position — so book the match first and plan the evening around wherever it leaves you.
Il Palio Remiero: The Boat Race on the Arno
Late afternoon also brings the Palio Remiero di San Giovanni, a rowing race on the Arno organised by the Società Canottieri Firenze. Modern "navicelli" — narrow, oar-driven boats — carry crews from the same four historic quartieri that compete in Calcio Storico, and the four-strong crews race from the boat club near Ponte Vecchio up toward Santa Trinita bridge and back.
The race runs in the hour or two before the fireworks, with the start and finish line on Lungarno Anna Maria de' Medici drawing a crowd of its own. It is a lower-key event than the football final or the fireworks, but a good way to fill the gap between them if you are already spending the afternoon along the river.
Where to Watch the Fireworks
The display is fired from Piazzale Michelangelo, which is the counterintuitive part: the piazzale itself is the launch site, not the ideal viewpoint. The classic vantage points are along the north bank of the Arno looking back toward the hill, with Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia the traditional local choice.
- Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia — the established local spot, directly across from the launch point. Arrive well before 22:00; it fills from early evening.
- Lungarno Serristori and Lungarno Torrigiani — south bank alternatives, closer in, with the bridges in the frame.
- Ponte Vecchio and the central bridges — the postcard composition, and correspondingly the most crowded. Access is often managed.
- Rooftop terraces — several central hotels and bars sell terrace access for the evening. Book weeks ahead; these sell out.
Wherever you choose, the return walk afterwards is slow — tens of thousands of people leave the riverbanks at once, and the bridges bottleneck. Plan to walk rather than expecting a taxi.
Is 24 June a Good Day to Be in Florence?
It is the best day of the Florentine year to be in the city, and one of the worst to try to see the city's museums. Those two facts are not in tension — they just mean you should pick.
If you come for the festival, you get a free, genuinely local civic celebration with a historic sports final and a major fireworks display, in a city that is otherwise almost entirely given over to tourism. If you come for the Uffizi and the Accademia, you have chosen a day when closures are unpredictable, the centre is congested, and half the streets you need are given over to a procession or a match.
One thing the headline events tend to overshadow: the San Niccolò Tower, one of the surviving gates in Florence's old defensive walls, traditionally reopens to the public on 24 June for the summer season, with small guided groups climbing for a rooftop view toward the Poggi Ramps and Piazzale Michelangelo. It keeps summer hours and closes well before the fireworks start, so it works best as an afternoon add-on rather than a fireworks viewpoint — worth building in if you are already spending the whole day near the centre.
June is also the month Florence's summer programme opens — Estate Fiorentina runs from around the start of the month into September, so there is outdoor programming either side of the 24th. The Florence festival calendar covers how the rest of the year compares. Florence's other great civic ritual falls at Easter: the Scoppio del Carro, when a firework-loaded cart is detonated outside the Duomo.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens in Florence on 24 June?
It is the feast of San Giovanni Battista, Florence's patron saint. The day runs from the Corteo degli Omaggi procession at 08:30, through the Calcio Storico final in Piazza Santa Croce in the afternoon, to a fireworks display fired from Piazzale Michelangelo at 22:00.
Is 24 June a public holiday in Florence?
It is a local patron saint holiday observed in Florence, not a national one. Many shops and local businesses close and museums may run holiday hours, but national services including trains operate normally, so travelling in and out on the day is straightforward.
Where is the best place to see the San Giovanni fireworks?
The display is fired from Piazzale Michelangelo, so the piazzale is the launch site rather than the viewpoint. Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia on the north bank is the traditional local choice. The central bridges give the postcard view but are heavily crowded and often access-managed.
Is the Calcio Storico final on the same day?
Yes. The final is played in Piazza Santa Croce on 24 June, the patron saint's day, in the afternoon before the evening fireworks. The final is ticketed and sells in advance, unlike the fireworks, which are free to watch from the riverbanks.
Do the San Giovanni fireworks cost anything?
No. The display is a gift to the city from Fondazione CR Firenze, organised by the Deputazione della Società di San Giovanni Battista, a volunteer organisation founded in 1796. Watching from the riverbanks is free; only private rooftop terraces charge.
