Florence News, Week of October 26 2026: Giotto Restored, Friday Strike and Tram Updates

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Santa Croce basilica and the Duomo lit up at dusk over the Florence rooftops

Welcome to my weekly Florence news roundup. Every Monday I pull together what actually changed in the city over the past seven days, checked against official and local news sources, and what it means if you are visiting. This week: Giotto is back in full color at Santa Croce, a Palazzo Vecchio courtyard has been restored, the center has been busy with demonstrations and a big national festival, and Friday 30 October is a strike day you need to plan around.

Giotto's Bardi Chapel frescoes at Santa Croce, fully restored

The four year restoration of Giotto's Stories of Saint Francis in the Bardi Chapel of Santa Croce, which started in July 2022, is finished. The Opera di Santa Croce and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure cleaned and consolidated the six scenes from the saint's life, and the result is a much clearer read of Giotto's color and his revolutionary sense of space. It lands in a meaningful year, the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis. Sources: Opera di Santa Croce and ANSA.

The chapel was in the spotlight again this Monday, 26 October, when President Sergio Mattarella came to see the restored cycle and walked the basilica's tombs and monuments of Dante, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Foscolo. Source: Toscana Oggi.

My tip: the Bardi Chapel is the one immediately to the right of the main altar. Go early in the day when the light is soft and the basilica is quieter. My Santa Croce guide has the full visit plan.

Palazzo Vecchio's Cortile della Dogana and Lion Fountains restored

On 21 October the city unveiled the restored Cortile della Dogana, one of the three courtyards of Palazzo Vecchio, dating to 1494, together with its Fonti dei Leoni, the lion fountains, and the statue of Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the Electress Palatine who left the Medici art collections to Florence. The 60 day project was sponsored by the Scuola del Cuoio leather school in memory of Tommaso Melani. Restorers used lasers to clean the masks and basins and brought back the original colors. The surprise: all four lions turned out to be period plaster casts with a metal frame inside, not stone as had long been believed. Sources: ANSA and intoscana.

Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi lit up at night in Piazza della Signoria

For more on what to look for inside, see my Palazzo Vecchio guide.

Festival of the Regions and demonstrations in the center

From 25 to 27 October Florence is hosting the Festival delle Regioni, which President Mattarella opened in the Salone dei Cinquecento on Monday. During the festival a large area around Piazza del Duomo has been closed to the public at times for security. Source: Firenze Today.

The city has also seen several demonstrations. On Saturday 24 October a march against the cost of living saw tense moments between Ponte Santa Trinita and Via de' Tornabuoni, and some activists occupied the tram tracks at Santa Maria Novella station for a few hours. On Monday students and teachers gathered in Piazza Santa Maria Novella around 1 PM and marched toward the Fortezza da Basso. Sources: The Florentine and La Nazione.

My advice: none of this affects most sightseeing, but if you are heading to the station with luggage on a protest afternoon, leave extra time and be ready to walk if the tram is held up.

Friday 30 October: the strike details are now confirmed

I flagged this national general strike in my November and December travel alerts, and the details for travelers are now clearer:

Trains: the strike runs from 9 PM on Thursday 29 October to 8.59 PM on Friday 30 October. Regional trains have guaranteed windows from 6 to 9 AM and 6 to 9 PM, and some long distance and high speed trains are guaranteed. Check your train on trenitalia.com before you go. Source: La Nazione.
Flights: the strike covers air transport all day Friday, and staff of Toscana Aeroporti and ground handlers at Florence and Pisa airports have called a separate 24 hour strike. Source: Notizie Firenze.
Buses: Autolinee Toscane has announced bus strikes only for the provinces of Livorno, Lucca and Massa Carrara. Source: Autolinee Toscane.
Taxis: the national strike notice also lists taxis for the full day, so book transfers ahead if you can. Source: Italian Ministry of Transport strike calendar.
Museums: the Uffizi will open only from 1.30 PM to 6.30 PM, while Boboli stays open all day. Source: Uffizi Galleries.

A regional train with its doors open under the Firenze Rifredi station sign

If you fly in or out on Friday, check with your airline the day before and leave a wide margin for getting to the airport.

Tram news: worksites out by December, and a new line approved

Work on the tram line to Bagno a Ripoli continues on the east side of the center. A new phase in Piazza Beccaria runs until the end of October, and Viale Europa is closed outbound on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 9 PM to 1 AM until 30 October. Source: intoscana. On 23 October the city's tram councillor said the plan is to clear the worksites from the streets in December, reopen Piazza Beccaria, and have the line running by summer 2027. Source: TGRegione.

Looking further ahead, the city approved the final design for extending tram line T2 from the airport to Sesto Fiorentino, with a stop at Castello station for train connections. Works are planned from autumn 2027 to 2029. Sources: Corriere Fiorentino and La Nazione. For now, T2 is still the easiest way from the airport into the center, and my tram, bus and train guide explains how it works.

Worth your time this week

Romanzo Criminale, a new opera by Nicola Piovani based on Giancarlo De Cataldo's novel, at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino until 31 October.
France Odeon, the French film festival, at Cinema La Compagnia and other venues from 28 October to 1 November.
WHY Graphic Design Festival at MAD Murate Art District and other venues from 29 October to 1 November.
Pink October: monuments around the city are lit pink for breast cancer awareness through 31 October.
Danielle Mckinney, Tra Noi: twenty works by the Alabama born painter, her first show in Florence, at Museo Novecento on Piazza Santa Maria Novella until 28 February 2027. Source: Museo Novecento.

Source for the events above unless noted: The Florentine. Then on Sunday 1 November, state museums including the Uffizi and the Accademia are free for the first Sunday of the month, so expect queues. For the bigger shows opening this winter, see my Florence exhibitions roundup, and for the 1966 flood anniversary on 4 November, my guide to the 60th anniversary events.