FAI Days (Italian National Trust), spring edition

The "FAI Spring Days" are back on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March 2026. The major event organised by the Italian Environment Fund (an institution created to protect, preserve and promote Italy's artistic and landscape heritage) is now in its 34th year.

As usual, interesting initiatives will take place throughout Italy on the first weekend of spring, in particular special openings of places (usually closed to the public) such as palaces, villas, gardens and castles. As regards our area, below is a summary of the places open during the weekend of 21 and 22 March.
 

Places to discover

• Palazzo Buontalenti, Via Cavour 65 - Florence
  Known as the 'Casino Mediceo', it is located near Piazza San Marco. During the time of Lorenzo il Magnifico, it was also home to the famous Medici Garden (seat of the Academy of Renaissance sculptors, which included a very young Michelangelo). The building, with its large façade on Via Cavour, was designed around 1575 by Buontalenti on commission from Francesco I to house the Medici foundries; it was also a place of study and experimentation for the Prince himself, who was passionate about alchemy. Until a few years ago, it housed the Attorney General's Office, but now it is one of the campuses of the European University.
   
• Palazzo Cerretani, Piazza dell'Unità 1 - Florence
  This imposing building stands in Piazza dell'Unità Italiana, a stone's throw from Santa Maria Novella Station. Commissioned by the Cerretani family in the 16th century, the palace has undergone several transformations over the centuries. In the second half of the 19th century, it became the property of the predecessor of Ferrovie dello Stato (National Railways) while today it houses the offices of the Regional Council. Inside, you can admire 18th-century pictorial cycles, but also various testimonies of the history of Florence, starting from the Roman era.
   
• Former complex of San Jacopo di Ripoli now Caserma Simoni, Via della Scala 60 - Florence
  From the end of the 13th century, it housed numerous female religious congregations and, in 1476, saw the birth of Florence's first printing press! It was also the site of the famous anti-Medici conspiracy of 1522. In 1883, the building was transferred to the state, which converted it into barracks (currently home to the Italian Army Administration Department) and named it after Simone Simoni, the famous Italian general murdered by the Nazis. Following recent restoration work, fragments of 16th-century frescoes depicting religious subjects have been brought to light in the former refectory.
   
• Borgo San Pietro a Varlungo, Via Varlungo 7 - Florence
  The church of San Pietro a Varlungo is the heart of the ancient village of the same name, with rural roots, in the south-eastern part of Florence on the banks of the Arno. Of ancient origins, the church was radically renovated at the end of the 17th century, while in the 19th century it took on its current appearance. Inside, in addition to the 13th-century Madonna and Child by the Master of Varlungo, you can admire late Baroque frescoes by Alessandro Gherardini and the school of Volterrano. It was also an important place of refuge for those persecuted during the Holocaust.
   
• Villa del Cigliano, Via Cigliano 17 - San Casciano Val di Pesa (Fi)
  Nestled in the typical countryside of Chianti Fiorentino, the villa was the heart of the village of the same name, which has ancient origins. Of great interest are the internal garden, a mix of Renaissance and Baroque styles, and the Peschiera, which reflects the façade of the Villa.

All venues are free to enter, but reservations are required for Palazzo Cerretani. For further details visit the F.A.I. website.