Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
A world-famous music festival adds
more fascination to glorious Florence

A concert performance in the Piazza della Signoria beneath the gaze of Michelangelo’s David and the night-lighted loggia of great sculptures.

By themselves, the Renaissance sculptural and architectural masterpieces almost casually strewn about the medieval streets and plazas, are enough to attract millions of admiring visitors to Florence each year. Simply being there satisfies most travelers’ souls.

But the look of Florence is only a sort of skin. Behind its exteriors, the discerning traveler begins to sense an immense depth and substance. Proof of it may start with a simple, but perfect, trattoria meal of half a grilled spring chicken accompanied by a chianti, and then be embellished by turning a corner and running into an unexpected parade of bands and marchers in medieval mufti. After that, Florence seems to offer up one cultured moment or encounter after another.

One extended series of those moments – held in high regard worldwide – is the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (May Florentine Music Festival) that takes place from early May through June at the Teatro della Pergola and other sites around town The festival, which will be 64 years old in May, offers an array of classical music, opera, ballet and recitals that draw some of the world’s greatest musical artists.

The festival begins this year on May 6 with the opera Il Trovatore. Successive events will include the operas Tamerlane, Didone and Penthesilea; symphonic performances by Zubin Mehta and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Oslo Symphony Orchestra; and ballet performances that will climax June 27 with a “dance gala” in the Piazza della Signoria.

Florence’s weather in May and June is mild – summer’s often prickly heat is weeks in the future (as well the press of students, tourists and other visitors that jams the city in July and August). When seeking accommodations, don’t overlook the small guesthouses and hotels on the other side of the Arno from the Ponte Vechhio, as well as in the hills at the city outskirts.  

— Patrick Totty