The exhibition '60 Pop Art Italia, currently hosted at Palazzo Buontalenti in Pistoia, presents an extraordinary opportunity to immerse oneself in the fascinating and colorful world of Italian Pop Art from the 1960s. With a selection of over 70 works by prominent artists such as Mario Schifano, Tano Festa, Franco Angeli, and others, this exhibition offers a captivating and in-depth perspective on the creativity that permeated Italy in that decade.

Curated with mastery by Walter Guadagnini, the exhibition traces a path through the key cities of the Italian art scene of the time, from Rome to Milan, from Turin to Venice, and beyond. Each stage of this artistic journey reveals the peculiarities and nuances of Italian Pop Art, showing how artists interpreted and adapted the international movement to local realities and sensitivities.

Through a variety of works, from paintings to collages, from sculptures to installations, visitors can immerse themselves in the themes and languages that characterized this rich and fertile period for Italian art. The exhibited works represent not only an artistic expression but also a critical and creative response to the social, political, and cultural transformations of the time.

The exhibition not only celebrates the well-known names of Italian Pop Art but also provides a platform to reassess often overlooked or forgotten artists, offering a more inclusive and comprehensive view of the artistic scene of the time. Through loans from prestigious public institutions such as the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Palermo, the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Turin, the Mart in Trento and Rovereto, and others, as well as from significant private collections, the exhibition presents works of great value and historical importance.

Moreover, the exhibition aims to highlight the role of women artists in this artistic movement, dedicating a significant space to their works and their contribution to the artistic scene of the time.

In conclusion, '60 Pop Art Italia offers an engaging and stimulating experience, a journey through a period of extraordinary vibrancy and creative richness that contributed significantly to the history of Italian and international art.

Pistoia, Palazzo Buontalenti, via de’ Rossi 7

March 16th – July 14th, 2024

Wednesday – Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm

Closed on Monday and Tuesday. Special openings: Easter, Easter Monday, April 25th, May 1st, June 2nd

Ticket

Full: €10.00

Reduced: €7.00

☞ https://www.pistoiamusei.it/

Palazzo Strozzi hosts a major exhibition conceived and realized in collaboration with one of the most important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, Anselm Kiefer. The exhibition allows visitors to come into direct contact with the great German master through a journey among historical works and new productions, including a new large-scale piece created in dialogue with the Renaissance courtyard.

Curated by Arturo Galansino, General Director of the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation, Anselm Kiefer. Fallen Angels is a journey through allegories, figures, and forms that reflect on identity, poetry, historical events, and different philosophical thoughts.

Using painting, sculpture, installation, and photography, Anselm Kiefer's art offers a path of introspection on the human condition, exploring the connections between past, present, and future. Since his beginnings in the late 1960s, Anselm Kiefer has conducted a profound and layered investigation into themes of memory, myth, history, literature, and philosophy. In his artistic journey, myth, religion, mysticism, poetry, and philosophy converge. Each of his artistic productions expresses a rejection of limits, not only in monumentality or materiality but above all in the infinite richness of resources with which he delves into the depths of memory and the past.

Florence, Palazzo Strozzi

Piazza Strozzi

50123 Florence

Every day 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

Thursday until 11:00 pm

Tickets

☞ https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/biglietti-e-orari/

The fixed appointment that many mark with enthusiasm every year has placed Greve in Chianti among the top ten Italian cities hosting annual antique fairs. The fair held every Easter Monday in the magnificent and original Mercatale Square in Greve is fascinating for many reasons. One of the main reasons is the extraordinary backdrop created specifically for the occasion.

No place could have been better than this square, which has been destined for markets for centuries, to host this parade of curious objects. This prestigious fair, offers only carefully selected products from esteemed collectors from all over the country. Permissions have been granted with caution, ensuring that there are no dubious origin items or bric-a-brac among the stalls.

Here, you will find only an impeccable selection of authentic antique items, along with high-quality reproductions clearly identified as such by the sellers. Additionally, there is a wide range of jewelry for ladies passionate not only about vintage pieces but also about high-class luxury. You can admire antique rustic furniture and well-preserved tools from the past, artifacts straight from the farms, ornaments, ceramics, majolica, porcelain, tableware, vintage agricultural equipment, toys, jewelry, lace, blankets, and antique embroideries, books, prints, postcards, and collectible items.

The famous Antiques Fair of Arezzo is one of the most important and largest antique fairs in Italy, held every first Sunday of the month and the preceding Saturday.

Pictures and paintings, small jewels, ancient and modern furniture, carpets, clocks, silverware, toys, books and vintage prints, collection stamps, musical instruments, gramophones and radios: it is easy to be charmed and indulge in discovering one of the biggest and oldest Italian Antiques Fairs. 

In 1968 a famous antiquarian and collector of Arezzo, Ivan Bruschi, gave birth to this fair which still today fills with its curious bric-a-brac the old town centre, its streets, yards, Vasari Loggia and wonderful Piazza Grande, every first weekend of the month.

For two days the town changes into a multicolor scenery of treasures waiting to be discovered by tourists and collectors: over five hundreds exhibitors from all over Italy meet here with their furniture and objects of all periods and styles, while antiquarians and restorers have multiplied their business, opening their shops during the fair and showing their best items. Experts of antiques and

modern antique collecting find here plenty of particular specializations, such as, for instance, scientific tools, Art-Nouveau stained glass windows, Art Deco furnishing.

Sales exhibition of gardening, local products and outdoor living 

An exhibition of traditional plants and flowers but also little-known, unusual, rare and curious seeds and bulbs, products of traditional crafts, gardening and country clothing, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, typical food of smaller places of our country and garden furniture. 

The event takes place on the city walls of Lucca – Baluardi San Regolo – la Libertà – Botanical Garden of Lucca

Exhibition times

Friday April 5 from 10.00am to 7.30pm

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April from 9 am to 7.30pm

Dogs can enter on a leash

Tickets

Full daily ticket €. 10.00

Reduced daily ticket € 8.00 over 65, minors between 8 and 14 years, disabled carers

www.verdemura.com

The Firenze Flower Show, a showcase and market for rare and unusual plants, returns on April 6-7, 2024, at the beautiful Villa Corsini, located at Via della Scala 115 in Florence.

This spring exhibition brings together the best exhibitors from across the country, offering two days of entertainment and learning in the field of horticulture and high-quality gardening for numerous visitors.

Visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a fairy-tale world with a vast collection of rare and unique plants, including extraordinary orchids and very special succulents, each with its own unique characteristics. The event will also feature fruit trees, a rich selection of ornamental plants, perennial plants, and Japanese maples, as well as fascinating carnivorous plants, a wide collection of antique and modern roses, and curious kokedama.

In addition to the market showcase, there will be numerous free ancillary activities to engage both adults and children, including gardening courses, creative demonstrations, and educational workshops. The event will be open from 09:00 to 20:00. For further information and details, you can visit the official website of the event at 

https://www.firenzeflowershow.com/

Monthly appointment with Collecting in Florence, where the monthly market of all that is collectible takes place outdoors on the banks of the Arno in the Tuscany Hall car park in Florence. Among the various stands, enthusiasts will be able to find books, jewellery, small pieces of furniture, plates, candlesticks, clocks, chandeliers, dolls, porcelain, coins, records, DVDs, etc.

TUSCANY HALL Parking area Via Fabrizio De Andrè

Open from 10.00 to 19.00 in the parking area of the Theater.

FREE ENTRY.

First Sunday of the month: museums free entrance

It is a very important event involving all the State Museums with specials and free tickets access. Therefore, if you plan to visit Florence, Pisa, Lucca or any other Tuscan town our countless masterpieces without spending one Euro!

For instance in Florence you can visit: the Uffizi Gallery, Academy Museum, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, Bargello Museum, Medici Chapels, and many other attractions. All of them free of charge!

List of  State Museums in Tuscany HERE. 

An appointment for a unique market aimed at the curious and lovers of vintage and collectible items: vintage toys, antique books, paintings, prints.

A small market exhibition organized by the cultural association Asterisco, dedicated in particular to those who love to browse among ancient books, vintage pieces, collections, artistic productions in search of something rare and unique.

The location is the area in front of the University Campus of Prato, in Piazza dell'Università near the Station Il Serraglio, easily accessible by public transport with ample parking possibilities.

In Vernio there is a historical re-enactment among the oldest and longest-lived in Tuscany: the Polenta or Pulendina Festival. For centuries, the town has seen the free distribution in the square of sweet polenta made from chestnut flour, herring and cod. It all begins with a historical fact: in 1512, during the Spanish invasion of Tuscany, there was a severe famine and the Bardi Counts, feudal lords of Vernio, distributed sweet polenta, herring and cod to the population.

Even today, after so many centuries, there is a feast throughout the day with a corollary of appointments led by the traditional procession in historical costume with hundreds of figures that parade through the streets of Vernio since the morning. 

Born in Borgo a Mozzano to promote and incentivize the cultivation of the azalea, typical of the area, the exhibition has now become a much-anticipated event for both producers and hobbyists dedicated to cultivating this plant.

In addition to the numerous exhibition stands, there are also collateral initiatives related to gardening and local craftsmanship.

The Azalea Biennial held in the municipality of Borgo a Mozzano owes its inception to the Agricultural Study Center of Shell Italia, which in 1954 decided to consider the aspects and possibilities of small peasant properties in a economically depressed municipality, choosing Borgo a Mozzano as the location for the experiment. The technicians who settled in the village noticed that numerous azalea plants were being cultivated in the courtyards of the houses, developing and reproducing with the utmost spontaneity and ease, thus discovering that the entire area constituted an ideal habitat for this type of plant, and decided to promote its commercialization. In 1970, the 1st Azalea Exhibition was organized, involving all those who owned one or more plants, and it was attended by numerous nurserymen and floriculturists from Pescia, Pistoia, Montecatini, Pontedera, and Pietrasanta, invited for the occasion.

After this initial small success, the Agricultural Study Center offered to help all those who declared themselves willing to undertake this particular floriculture, providing azalea cuttings and technical assistance to start cultivation and commercialization, thus leading many farmers to become true cultivators. Since then, this floricultural event has taken place every year in May, increasingly involving collateral sectors, leading to increasing success in terms of both public engagement and critical acclaim.

In Pistoia, the second Sunday of the month an antique fair is held which attracts  many dealers from all over Tuscany. Here you can find very valuable antiques: furniture, majolica, porcelain, jewelery, clocks, coins, old lacework, crystal goblets and profane and religious period paintings.

On the stalls you can find clothing, utensils and ethnic products, as well as magazines, comics, used garments and other items from the past. 

In wintertime, from November to March the market takes place in the so called Cattedrale - not to confuse with the real Cathedral - (Via Pertini) while from April to October (eccept July and August) the market takes place in the suggestive backdrop of the Cathedral square of Pistoia.

There are about 100 exhibitors who animate the historic city center with various kinds of antiques every second Saturday and Sunday of the month except July and August.

You will find ceramics, glassware and cutlery for a romantic table setting and a very good range of embroidered linen (perhaps an untouched trousseau from a failed marriage). Also sepia paintings, watercolours, vintage  postcards (full of insight into how we lived in the past and complete with shaky handwriting), out-of-print books for the attentive book collector, silver and gold coins from every corner of the globe and much, much more.

Where: Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri, Piazza Garibaldi

Quality food and wine products and crafts. There will be truffles, burrata cheese, almond paste, honey, ceramics, crocheted items, embroidery, jewelry, leather products, and much more...

Piazza S. Francesco

Saturday Night Spa

Saturday, April 20th and 27th

from 7:00 PM to midnight

For an evening of pure relaxation, pamper yourself with a soothing bath under the stars in the thermal pool with rejuvenating whirlpools and

reinvigorate yourself with a steam bath in Europe's largest thermal cave at 34°C.

Includes:

Steam bath in natural thermal cave at 34°C (20 minutes)

Bathing under the stars in the 750 sqm thermal pool at 34°C with underwater whirlpools

Bathing in the Bioaquam thermal path at 34°C with rejuvenating whirlpools

Access to the Thermarium area

Access to the "Bioaquam Pavilion" the new covered and heated relaxation area of 310 m2

Lounge music

€35.00 by reservation

Bioaquam Café poolside open with à la carte menu

(payment upon consumption)

For more information, call 

+39 0572/9077992 or email terme@grottagiustispa.com

Second among the antique-dealers' market places of Tuscany for the number of its exhibitors and length of life, the Antique market of Lucca can boast of a solid tradition of quality and reliability thanks to professional antiquarians of high prestige who have always been an important presence in town. 

At the third weekend of each month (on Saturday and Sunday), from 8 am to 7 pm, Lucca opens its gates for a joyful event involving a large portion of the historical centre: from Piazza S. Martino, Piazza Antelminelli and Via Del Battistero - the historical antique dealers' street- ‚ to Piazza San Giusto, and Piazza S. Giovanni up to Piazza Bernardini. It is a gorgeous display of colorful stalls offering not only past vestiges of remarkable artistic value, but also traces of souvenirs impressed on a post-card, on a book, on a knick-knack or on an ornament. 

Furniture, clothes, fabrics, paintings, rare components of old instruments, lamps and chandeliers, old working tools, records..... a wide pattern of old or antique objects‚ patiently gathered and collected after explorations which

are getting more and more difficult. All these things speak to both the tourist and the lover, of a world, which has gone, but not willing to be forgotten yet.

Two unforgettable days around the most charming

streets of the town. It is Art facing Art, History meeting History. A really unique occasion to know Lucca better and taste the pleasure of peeping through the stalls in search of something beautiful to take home and - why not?- probably also making a good bargain! 

Free Guided Tours, Special Openings, Special Initiatives.

Free admission to all the State Museums on Italy's Liberation Day.

List of State Museum of Tuscany HERE. 

S. Zita is one of the patron saints of Lucca. The Market is an important flower show which takes place in Piazza Anfiteatro from April 24 to 29 from 9 am to 8 pm. 
The event is particularly striking for the colors of spring flowers on display and for the place where it is located: the ancient roman amphitheater encompassed by buildings of the typical medieval town of Lucca, and in Piazza S. Frediano.

Free Guided Tours of Montecatini Terme 

on April 20th, 21st, 25th, 27th, 28th, 2024

at 4:00 PM at the information kiosk in Piazza del Popolo, Montecatini Terme.

Guided tours departure guaranteed.

No reservation required.

Free Guided Tours

at 6:30 and 7:30 PM at Montecatini Terme - Monsummano train station, Agnolo Mazzoni Waiting Room.

Reservation required via WhatsApp message at +39 328 3512420.

Uzzano - Guided tour of Villa il Castellaccio where Puccini finished La Bohème - April 21, 2024

Cost: €10 + €10 entrance fee

Reservation required via WhatsApp message at +39 328 3512420.

Also this year at the International Handicrafts Trade Fair, the best of the arts and crafts from the various Italian regions as well from all over the world will be on show. 

Carefully selected traditional and innovating works will be on show, between originality and design, following an itinerary privileging productive traditions as well as the main territory attractions – local crafts, tourism, food & wine, landscape identities, and so on.

Florence - The International Handicrafts Trade Fair

When: April 25 - May 1, 2023

Where: Fortezza da Basso, Florence

More information:

☞ https://mostrartigianato.it/

From April 25th to May 1st, 2024, the historic plant and flower show organized by the Tuscan Horticultural Society will take place at the Horticultural Garden of Florence. The event will run continuously from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm and admission is free.

Throughout the duration of the show, you will find a wide variety of plants and flowers from over 75 specialist exhibitors in the Italian floriculture sector.

There will also be a rich cultural program featuring numerous free activities for both adults and children, including educational workshops, botanical illustration sessions, talks, book presentations, artistic performances, and guided monument and botanical walks. Additionally, there will be free specialized courses on orchids, acid-loving plants, air plants, roses, succulents, and many more, conducted by our expert instructors from the Tuscan Horticultural Society (these specialized courses are reserved for 2024 members of the Tuscan Horticultural Society APS). Membership registration is available at the stand located at the entrance of the garden on Via Vittorio Emanuele II.

Admission to the garden and the show is free and open to all. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and the fascinating world of horticulture!

"Lucca Classica"  is a festival of classical music and opera, featuring numerous performances by internationally renowned artists in various locations throughout the city of Lucca, such as the Church of Santi Giovanni and Reparata, the Teatro del Giglio, and the Basilica of San Frediano. The program also includes lectures, meetings, exhibitions, shows for children, and many other cultural initiatives. The event attracts many classical music enthusiasts also from abroad.

Complete Program:

☞ https://www.luccaclassica.it/eventi-2024/

From April 25th to 28th, the city of Pistoia, at the Ex Breda Exhibition Center called La Cattedrale, will host the annual event "The Tuscany in Mouth", an opportunity to immerse yourself in the flavors and culinary traditions of the region.

During these four days, visitors will have the opportunity to explore a wide selection of typical Tuscan products, including cheeses, cured meats, extra virgin olive oil, wines, and traditional sweets. Exhibitors will offer the chance to taste and purchase these delicacies directly from the producers.

In addition to tasting local products, there will be related events and activities. These include culinary demonstrations, cooking classes for children, guided wine tastings, and musical performances.

Entry to the event is free and open to everyone from 12:00 to 24:00.

Free entrance

The Festival is devoted to classical music and opera fans, its main purpose is to highlight the town’s musical  tradition, especially the great operas. 

This  season’s program, from April to October, presents 19 events, set in the most attractive thermal building of  Montecatini Terme, the Terme Tettuccio, which welcomes everybody as in a warm hug and where you can still hear the musical echo of the great composers  who have made Italian classic music famous all over the world.

Arti e Mestieri is an arts and crafts market in the historic center of Lucca, with a big number of exhibitors that meet every last weekend of the month in Piazza San Giusto, Piazza Cittadella and Piazza XX Settembre with many traditional and original products from Tuscany.

At Arti e Mestieri there are ceramists, painters, sculptors, leather, glass and papier-mâché artisans, weavers, jewelers, cabinet makers, seamstresses and embroiderers, knitting and crochet experts. The artisans-artists offer their exclusive products in a colorful market: bijoux in silver, ceramic and crochet, natural products for body care, fountain pens worked on the lathe, bags, belts and leather bracelets, painted stones, scented lavender, splendid paintings and sculptures.

Would you like to have an idea of what earthly paradise might look like? Do you want to forget about everyday life for a day and let yourself be intoxicated by scents, colors, stunning views, enchanting music, and reconcile with yourself and the world?

Then you cannot miss the visit to Buggiano Castello on Sunday, April 28th and Sunday, May 5th, days when the citrus orchards and secret gardens of the citrus village are open to the public.

Buggiano Castello is located on a hill near Montecatini Terme and enjoys a particular privilege: it has a south-facing exposure that creates a microclimate allowing the happy growth of all kinds of citrus fruits and plants that require plenty of sunshine, mild winter temperatures, protection from cold winds, and the right amount of water. In Buggiano Castello, this combination is perfect and produces a magical blend where on every terraced hillside, even where space is tight, all those plants that struggle to grow in less fortunate places thrive abundantly in an explosion of colors and scents that truly make us feel in paradise.

On the days when the gardens are open, the inhabitants share the privilege of enjoying these beauties with all those who wish to, opening their gardens called "secret" not by chance: these small plots of land are lovingly cultivated by the owners and are hidden within the walls of the houses. They are revealed only every two years, on the occasion of their opening during the festival called "the countryside within the walls."

On these days, there is a sort of competition among cultivators: each garden is adorned, and guests are welcomed with sweet music and themed refreshments; they are accompanied by warm winds, the scents of flowers, smells of oranges and lemons, sounds of instruments, and words in conversation.

The gardens were originally created as subsistence gardens (the only exception is the Baroque garden of Villa Sermolli, a noble residence since the 17th century) and only later transformed into ornamental treasures.

Even citrus fruits have had the same fate closely linked to the growth of well-being: they were used to produce jams, now they are elements of "uniqueness." Now, the secret gardens total sixteen, all gathered in an open-air museum system; each of them can be identified by name, character, structure, and by its own story to be revealed.

Public opening of the private gardens of Buggiano Castello on Sunday, April 28th and Sunday, May 5th from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 7 pm; the visit to the citrus village is estimated to take about three hours.

Opening hours

from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Admission including shuttle service

Full ticket 12.00 euros

Reduced ticket (over 65 years old) 10.00 euros

Free admission for children under 12 years old

Visitors will be welcomed in Borgo a Buggiano, where they will leave their cars in designated parking areas, to ascend to the Castle with comfortable free shuttles or on foot through fields cultivated with olive trees.

☞  www.lacampagnadentrolemura.it