It is a calendar full of events that is planned in Figline for the Feste del Perdono, which will be held from Friday 4 to Tuesday 8 September.
The traditional folkloristic event, promoted by the Pro Loco 'Marsilio Ficino' and the Municipality of Figline and Incisa Valdarno, will be inaugurated by a solemn procession (departure at 9 p.m. from Piazza San Francesco) in which the city's contrade (districts) and the Sbandieratori dei Borghi e dei Sestieri Fiorentini (flag-wavers of the Florentine villages and districts) will also take part. At 10 pm, however, space will be given to music, in the company of the 'Senza Patria' cover band. The proceeds of the concert, which will be held in Piazza Marsilio Ficino, will be donated to Calcit and earmarked for the expansion of the Oncological DH of the Serristori Hospital.
On Saturday 5, the appointment is at 5.30 p.m., again in Piazza Ficino. It is from there that the itinerant band of the Red Cross Military Corps of the 7th Florence Mobilisation Centre will depart. The celebrations will continue into the evening, with the exhibition of the Sbandieratori dei Borghi e dei Sestieri (9 pm) and the historical re-enactment with floats (9.30 pm). The re-enactment will officially mark the start of the first of the five competitions that will see the districts of Porta Aretina, Porta Fiorentina, Porta San Francesco and Porta Senese engaged in the 43rd Palio di San Rocco. The second, third and fourth races of the palio, on the other hand, will be disputed on Sunday 6, starting at 5pm (bigonce race, cart palio, tug-of-war). Also on Sunday, two other events will be held in Piazza Ficino: at 7 p.m. the classic tombola organised by the Misericordia, and at 10 p.m. the musical 'Un fantasma in teatro' (A ghost in the theatre) by the Talent Academy directed by Mirko Bonechi.
The day of Monday 7 will open at dawn with the 14th Songbird Fair (6.30 a.m. at the Giardini della Misericordia) and will continue with the Pardon Fair (9 a.m.-8 p.m., Via XIV Maggio and Piazza S. Francesco), the craft market (9.30 a.m.-24 p.m.), music and entertainment in the historic centre of Figline.
Tuesday, the final day of the event, will begin at 1 p.m. with the 38th Giro del Valdarno (a bicycle race starting from the Circolo Arci di Incisa and arriving in Piazza Ficino at around 5 p.m.), organised by the Gs Nuovo Pedale Figlinese. At 9 p.m. there will be the historical parade of the four contrade, which will then compete in the last race of the palio on horseback. This will be followed by the prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the Palio di San Rocco and fireworks (midnight). The banner of this edition of the palio is the work of local artist Lorena Nocentini, who painted the challenge of the four contrade reproducing the moment in which they attempt to centre the ring suspended over Piazza Ficino.
Tickets for Saturday and Tuesday evenings are available at the Tourist Office in Piazza San Francesco (Monday-Friday 9.30-12.30/15.30-18.30) and during the festival days in Piazza Ficino. For info: 055.9153509.
'Initiatives such as these,' explained mayor Giulia Mugnai and councillor Lorenzo Tilli, 'are important for our city, because they serve to keep our traditions alive and promote our territory, which is rich in associations and volunteers who, day after day, work to make this event possible.
'The success of any event,' added Pro Loco president Sandra Mazzoni, 'is always the result of the sharing and commitment that all the entities involved invest to make it happen. I would therefore like to thank the city's contrade, the Sbandieratori dei Borghi e Sestieri Fiorentini, the Administration, the associations, but also the private citizens, whose presence has made this 43rd edition possible'.
