In Florence, a Feast of Festivals
Winter in the city of Dante: Florence invites reflection and revelry in equal measure.
© Victoria Lyons
Savoring the First Week of the Year
Is an Italian Cultural Tradition
Are “the holidays” a faint memory? In some countries, all trace of yuletide is tidied away with alarming efficiency. Trees that inspire ho-ho-ho’s one day, get the heave-ho the next.
Here in Florence, Italy, January’s air is still redolent with balsam. Fairy lights arch over streets, and by Italian cultural tradition, a feast of festivals continues. Long past December, much remains to be savored, so my friend Victoria and I go with the Florentine flow.
On the Via Pietrapiana, Victoria admires edible art at Pasticceria Nencioni.
© Joyce McGreevy
Il festivo is January 1. That’s Capodanno, “the head of the year.” But first comes la Festa di San Silvestro, ...
