The Art of May in Florence

Planning a trip to Florence? May is the perfect month to visit.

If you’re dreaming of discovering Florence in all its beauty — before the summer crowds arrive — May offers the ideal mix: mild weather, long golden afternoons, and a full calendar of cultural events.

From artisan markets in hidden piazzas to opera under the stars, and new handmade collections just landed in store, the city feels alive but never overwhelming. This is the moment to explore Florence like a local — and fall in love with its quieter side.

May in Florence isn’t just for concerts and exhibitions.

It’s also for slowing down.

For lying in the grass with a book, a coffee, and someone who gets it.

Because sometimes, doing nothing is the most Florentine thing you can do.

Markets, Makers & Florentine simplicity

• Artigianato e Palazzo
  📍 Giardino Corsini – 🗓 May 17–19
  A hidden garden opens its gates for the finest Italian artisans. Live demonstrations, timeless design, and an air of aristocratic ease. More here →

• Santo Spirito’s Fierucola
  📍 Piazza Santo Spirito – 🗓 May 19
  A market for those who care: handmade ceramics, organic breads, linen garments, herbal tinctures — all under the shade of the basilica.

• Firenze Flower Show
  📍 Giardino Corsini – 🗓 May 25–26
  Rare plants, botanical wonders, and garden dreams — curated for the quietly obsessed.

Exhibitions for the eyes (and mind)

• Tracey Emin – Sex and Solitude
  📍 Palazzo Strozzi
  The raw, delicate power of one of Britain’s most unfiltered artistic voices.

• Caravaggio and the 20th Century
  📍 Villa Bardini
  The chiaroscuro master seen through modernist eyes.

• Giovan Battista Foggini: Architect of the Baroque
  📍 Palazzo Medici Riccardi
  Florentine precision meets grand baroque vision.

Music, Rituals & Theatrical grace

• Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
  📍 Teatro del Maggio – 🗓 All month
  A cultural high note with Strauss (Salome), Verdi (Requiem), Britten, Mahler — and Zubin Mehta on the podium.

• Candlelight Concerts
  📍 Various locations – 🗓 Every weekend
  Coldplay, ABBA, Vivaldi, Morricone — performed under a sea of candles. Music for those who listen with their eyes.

• Marzocco Flag Tournament
  📍 Piazza della Signoria – 🗓 May 5
  A burst of medieval pride as Florence’s sbandieratori fill the square with color, rhythm, and heritage.

• Fabbrica Europa Festival
  📍 Stazione Leopolda – 🗓 All month
  Avant-garde meets Renaissance bones. Dance, installations, music. A Europe of ideas, made performative.

Manifattura Tabacchi – Where the city experiments

📍 Via delle Cascine 35, Florence

• Through May 4
  “Thinking Objects” — a collective show and community kitchen at Toast Project Space

• May 15 & 24
  Caveau tours — discover the history, architecture, and soul of this post-industrial icon. Full agenda →

A city built on dates – Florentine history in May

• May 6, 1527 — Republic Restored
  After the Sack of Rome, the Medici are exiled and the Florentine Republic rises again (briefly, but proudly).

• May 12, 1497 — Savonarola Excommunicated
  The monk who burned books is silenced by a papal bull. Ten days later, he meets the same fate in Piazza della Signoria.

• May 22, 1859 — The End of the Grand Duchy
  Piedmontese troops enter Florence. Tuscany becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy.

• May 1, 1865 — Dante Returns
  The statue of Dante Alighieri is unveiled in Piazza Santa Croce — 600 years after his birth, and long after his exile.

Florence Factory – Just Landed

The latest arrivals are in: our Spring–Summer 2025 collection has officially bloomed.
New clothing, freshly crafted jewels, hand-finished sandals — all handmade in Florence with quiet precision and timeless style.

See something you love while you're here?
We’ll wrap it for you and ship it home — so your suitcase stays light, but your memories don’t.

Florence Factory: where stories take shape in linen, leather, and gold.