FLORENCE, ITALY – Florence, Pisa and Siena keep alive the long Medieval religious tradition celebrating the beginning of the year with the Annunciation Day, nine months before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Before the advent of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the New Year was marked by March 25, instead of January 1st. Tuscany continued to celebrate this New Year’s Day until 1749, when the Grand Duke of Lorraine Francesco II issued a decree which introduced the modern calendar.
On March 25, 2016 Tuscany celebrates a commemoration of the historical calendar. In Pisa as part of the celebrations, a historical parade winds its way every year through the streets of the city and many cultural events are organized all over the old center, inviting all visitors to participate in the festive air that surrounds the city of Pisa on this day.