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Fireworks over the Arno river in Florence

On the 24th June every year Firenze celebrates its patron saint, San Giovanni with a colourful display of fireworks that always deliver.

The fireworks display usually starts at around 10:00pm and lasts a good forty minutes. The event is made even more magical because the city lights are switched off for the duration of the display.

Most people setup camp along the stretch of Arno that runs from the Uffizi away from the Ponte Vecchio (from 8pm onwards for a good seat). If you’re out of town then San Donato, about 15 minutes into the hills towards Incisa is where everyone outside the city goes to watch the display.

The saint’s day in Florence also gives the “cittadini” a very important calandar event, a bank-holiday.

Don’t expect to find many shops open in Florence on the 24th, and if the weather’s good you can be sure that a large percentage of the locals will head to the beaches and take sun instead.