One of the oldest traditions in Florence is the ‘Scoppio del Carro’, literally the ‘Explosion of the cart’, held each year on Easter Sunday.  This is a picturesque event, started some 350 years ago, where a cart full of fireworks is part of a procession with flag bearers and drummers, all the way to Santa Maria del Fiore.  Here at 11 O’clock on the dot, a rocket in the form of a dove is launched to set the cart on fire, setting off a spectacular fireworks display.

And if the Scoppio del Carro on its own would deserve a visit, consider that each little village has its own traditions to respect, and between Easter Sunday and Easter Monday your itinerary will be full of events to see.  Take a few days out and plan your trip among the provinces of Lucca, Pisa and Florence.  At every corner you’ll find historical events and celebrations to the fanfare of flag bearers and drummers in period costume, and you’ll also have occasion to taste some this period’s food specialities.

The typical menu for Eater Sunday in Tuscany? Boiled eggs, especially blessed during midnight mass, for breakfast accompanied by ‘schiacciata di pasqua’, an Easter leavened speciality similar to panettone, but flavoured with aniseed, and for lunch crostini with chicken liver paté – hen broth – roast lamb or pork with little vegetable pies and again ‘schiacciata’, but this time accompanied by chocolate eggs!