DANTEDÌ

Every year on March 25th the city of Florence dedicates a day to the “Supreme Poet”, Dante Alighieri. Based on Bloomsday in Dublin (which celebrates James Joyce’s Ulysses), you can find cultural initiatives all around the city, with people reading passages from the Divine Comedy aloud. Walk around the city following important locations of Dante’s life, such as Museo Casa di Dante (Via Santa Margherita 1) or hop on a train and head to Ravenna! There you can visit Dante’s resting place as well as amazing Byzantine mosaics.

FLORENTINE NEW YEAR – MARCH 25

Up until 1749, Florence celebrated its New Year on March 25th. This tradition is kept alive today with historical re-enactments and parades by the members of the Order of Parte Guelfa.

When: Saturday, March 25
Where: Florence’s city center, from Piazza di Parte Guelfa to Piazza SS. Annunziata

EATING TUSCAN

PANINO AL LAMPREDOTTO
Lampredotto is considered the king of Florentine street food. Taking its name from the lamprey (a type of fish that once inhabited the Arno river), lampredotto is usually eaten with a type of bread called “rosetta” and can be served with just salt and pepper, with hot sauce or with “salsa verde”, a condiment that includes olive oil, parsley, capers, stale bread, and anchovies. The meat is boiled for hours in a broth made with carrots, celery, bay leaves, onions, garlic, pepper, and a few juniper berries: the more it cooks the better it tastes. Despite taking its name from a fish, lampredotto comes from cows. More specifically, lampredotto is one of the four stomachs of the cow, the abomasum. Being part of the cow’s entrails, lampredotto has a particular consistency that not everyone likes, but we encourage you to try it!

Where to eat it:  Tripperia Pollini (Via dei Macci, 126) – I’Trippaio di Firenze (Via Gioberti) – Il Trippaio di Sant’Ambrogio (Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti)