What to do in Florence during the protests (October 2026)

Florence has had student and cost-of-living marches since 16 October, as part of the protests across Italy. Each one was announced days ahead, with a time and a meeting point, and lasted a few hours. On a march day, keep away from the route for those hours and the rest of Florence carries on. A good way to spend that day is out of the city, in a farm kitchen in the hills.

What is happening in Florence (updated 24 October 2026)

Since mid-October Italy has seen protests against the cost of living, fuel prices and the government’s school policy. The worst of it was in Milan, Turin and Rome, where some marches ended in riots and looting. In Florence so far:

• 16 October. More than 2,000 secondary school students marched from Piazza San Marco to Piazza del Carmine in the Oltrarno. In the days after, students occupied about a dozen Florence high schools.
• 24 October. More than a thousand people marched in the afternoon from Piazza Santa Maria Novella to Piazza Santo Spirito, on a route agreed with the police. Part of the march then tried to reach the designer shops of Via Tornabuoni. Police held them on Ponte Santa Trinita for several hours, with eggs and firecrackers thrown and three baton charges, and the shops on Via Tornabuoni closed early. In the evening a smaller group went to Santa Maria Novella station and stopped the trams for over an hour. Local papers reported no injuries and no damage to shops that evening.
• 26 October, 13:00. Students meet at Santa Maria Novella to march against a visit by the education minister. The route had not been published on 24 October.
• 29 and 30 October. National general strike, with trains and airports affected (dates below).
• 20 November. General strike called by the CGIL union.

Is Florence safe for tourists right now?

Florence has not had the riots seen in Milan and Turin. It has had marches that block a few streets for a few hours, and on 24 October a standoff on one bridge. Away from the route, the city carries on as normal.

Government advice says much the same. The UK Foreign Office updated its Italy page on 21 October with the 30 October strike and the riots in northern cities. It does not advise against travel, and it does not mention Florence. The US keeps Italy at its usual Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, and has issued demonstration alerts for Rome and Milan. Canada’s advice for Italy is still “exercise a high degree of caution”.

Dates to plan around

Monday 26 October, from 13:00. Student march from Santa Maria Novella. Keep away from the station and the centre in the early afternoon, and don’t plan a train departure around then.

Thursday 29 October, 21:00, to Friday 30 October, 20:59. Rail strike, as part of the USB general strike. Italian rail strikes usually keep a few guaranteed trains at commuter hours, but plan the Friday without one. Airport staff at Florence and Pisa strike for the whole of 30 October, so check your flight with the airline. Florence city buses were not on the strike list as of 24 October.

Friday 20 November. CGIL general strike, and a rail strike from 21:00 on 20 November to 20:00 on 21 November.

Italian strikes are often shortened or called off at the last minute. Check the day before on the transport ministry’s strike calendar or with Trenitalia.

How to plan a day around a march

Florence marches are announced two or three days ahead, and the time and meeting point are in the local papers (Firenze Today and La Nazione both cover them). On a march day:

• Book museum slots well before or well after the march time.
• Keep away from the meeting point and the route for the two or three hours of the march. So far that has meant Santa Maria Novella, Piazza San Marco and the bridges toward the Oltrarno.
• Don’t go to watch. Police can close the side streets around a march at short notice.
• Shops on the route may close early, as the designer shops on Via Tornabuoni did on 24 October. Leave the shopping for another day.

Spend a march day in the countryside

The simplest way to have a quiet day is to leave the city for it. The marches have all been in the centre of Florence. The hills are 30 to 45 minutes away by car.

That is where our agriturismo cooking class runs. Marsel and I are head chefs at two agriturismi in those hills, and we teach the class in the working kitchen of a farm estate. The day starts in the estate garden, picking what is ready that week. Then you roll fresh pasta by hand and make a sauce from the season, and the day ends with everyone at one table eating what they made.

• Group size: 6 to 20 people, and your group has the kitchen to itself.
• Length: about half a day, at the hour that suits you.
• Getting there: usually 30 to 45 minutes from Florence. A car or a shared taxi works best.
• Which estate: we work with several, and which one hosts you depends on the date. We confirm it when you book.
• Price: quoted per group. Send us your date and numbers and you have a price within one working day.

If you would rather see the countryside on your own, our guide to day trips from Florence covers Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano and Pisa. On 30 October, leave the train out of the plan.

Travelling as two or four?

The agriturismo class starts at six people. For smaller parties our Florence classes run every day, at 10:00, 14:30 and 18:00. The Chef’s Table is three hours of fettuccine, ravioli and tiramisù made by hand, eight people at most, €95 with a glass of Tuscan wine. With children, the family class takes them from age six.

The Florence kitchen is in the Oltrarno near Piazza Santo Spirito, and the 24 October march ended in that piazza. Pick a day with no march announced, or book now and move the class if one is called. You can reschedule free of charge up to 24 hours before, and cancel with a full refund of your deposit up to 48 hours before (see our cancellation policy).

Send us your dates on WhatsApp and we will tell you which class fits. We usually reply within a few hours, weekends included.