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The history and some fun facts about the incredible St. John’s fireworks

The tradition of the ‘Fochi di San Giovanni’, the fireworks display that sparkles in the eyes of all Florentines and tourists in the city on the night of 24th June, has a very long history. It was told to us by Claudio Bini, president of the St. John the Baptist Association, which has been looking a er the celebrations of the Florentine patron saint since 1796.

When and how did the tradition of St John’s fireworks start?

The current fireworks tradition derives from the ‘Fochi di Allegrezza’, a Pagan custom that consisted in celebrating the summer solstice on the eve of St. John’s Day by lighting bonfires in Piazza Duomo, above the gates of the city walls and in Piazza della Signoria. From the 13th century, with the discovery of gunpowder, bonfires were replaced by artificial, mostly white fireworks. The first major progress came in the early 1800s with the addition of colours (red, blue and green), they became more majestic and burned easier. How has it changed over the centuries?

In the beginning, these were

‘rockets’ that le from Porta alla Croce or Canto alle Rondini. It was with the return of the Medici, and in particular with Cosimo I (the first Grand Duke), that a big festival began to be celebrated in the name of the patron saint with the use of large structures full of fireworks known as pinwheels; they were true works of engineering. In the past, the fireworks were set off in Piazza della Signoria, but since 1923, for safety and visibility reasons, they were moved to Piazzale Michelangelo, where they are still set off today.

What time does the show start?

The musical entertainment begins at 9pm on the Lungarno della Zecca, which is this year held by the Air Force band celebrating its 100th anniversary, while the

Since1923thefireworksweremoved toPiazzaleMichelangelo,wherethey arestillsetofftoday

Theshowlastabout40minutes andmostofthemareaerialfireworks, whichincreaseinspeed andsizeastheminutesgoby first bang goes off at 10pm, with the street lights on the Lungarno della Zecca and in the Oltrarno, from the Torre di San Niccolò up the ramps to the square, being switched off to make the show all the more magical. How long do the fireworks last?

About 40 minutes and most of them are aerial fireworks, which increase in speed and size as the minutes go by. The show requires a lot of behind the scenes work. It is managed by the St. John the Baptist Association with the collaboration of the City of Florence and the Fondazione CR Firenze and it also involves se ing up chairs on the Lungarno della Zecca to watch the show and adopting the relevant safety and prevention plans. Where are the best places to watch the show?

The best place is with friends and relatives on one of their terraces; otherwise, there is certainly excellent