Witness the entertaining ‘Befanate Befanotti’ festival in the town of Piancastagnaio on the 5th January! Groups of local men dress up in old rags called befanotti and dirty their faces to look like beggars.
They then go from house to house offering to sing a lively begging song in exchange for gifts like food or money. Afterwards the jolly men gather together in the main square to divide up their earnings and eat some food while they laugh and chatter together. This unusual tradition is great fun to watch!
Choose from a great range of vacation villa rentals in Radicofani, only eight kilometres from Piancastagnaio and enjoy a selection of exciting festivals that occur locally around this time.
They then go from house to house offering to sing a lively begging song in exchange for gifts like food or money. Afterwards the jolly men gather together in the main square to divide up their earnings and eat some food while they laugh and chatter together. This unusual tradition is great fun to watch!
Choose from a great range of vacation villa rentals in Radicofani, only eight kilometres from Piancastagnaio and enjoy a selection of exciting festivals that occur locally around this time.
On the 6th January the Feast of the Epiphany takes place across several towns of Tuscany including Radicofani and Campiglia d’ Orcia. During this time, elaborate re-enactments are presented of the journey of the Three Wise Men to see the new-born baby Jesus, lying in a manger in Bethlehem.
This religious festival is enchanting to watch in the fading light of day and is followed by a feast of food and wine to enjoy!
A lovely festival and fair takes place in the Orange Flag town of San Gimignano on the 31st of January! It takes place mainly in Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Cisterna and finishes with a procession of candles through the streets to the Duomo.
Then the people and town of San Gimignano are blessed with fortune for the upcoming year. This is a magnificent spiritual festival to witness, such feelings peace and goodwill weave through the cold air!
This religious festival is enchanting to watch in the fading light of day and is followed by a feast of food and wine to enjoy!
A lovely festival and fair takes place in the Orange Flag town of San Gimignano on the 31st of January! It takes place mainly in Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Cisterna and finishes with a procession of candles through the streets to the Duomo.
Then the people and town of San Gimignano are blessed with fortune for the upcoming year. This is a magnificent spiritual festival to witness, such feelings peace and goodwill weave through the cold air!
In February be sure to check out the colourful Carnival of Viareggio held during the first few weeks of the month. Witness huge paper mache floats being paraded through the town, each year representing a different theme. Most of the locals dress up in colourful masks and costumes and host magnificent dance, theatre and feasting events to tourists to get involved with! The Carnival in Viareggio is the second biggest and most popular in Italy after the famous Carnival of Venice.
A trip to Tuscany in the early months of the year is certainly something to look forward to with all these exciting events taking place!
A trip to Tuscany in the early months of the year is certainly something to look forward to with all these exciting events taking place!
Photo credits
picture 1: Beatrice / CC BY-SA 2.5;
picture 3: Vinima / CC BY-SA 3.0
picture 1: Beatrice / CC BY-SA 2.5;
picture 3: Vinima / CC BY-SA 3.0
