November 10, 2015 will be a date to remember for Florence: 30 years after the last visit of a Pope, the city will welcome Pope Francis!
The Pope will be in Florence to officially participate in the National Ecclesiastical Congress, but he will also celebrate the Mass in the Artemio Franchi Stadium, which will host more than 50 thousand faithful.
Tuesday will be therefore a very busy, intense day: Pope Bergoglio arrives before 8 am in Prato, where he will visit the Cathedral and the Chapel of the Holy Girdle, then head to Florence where he probably will arrive around 9:45 am.
The Pontiff will visit the Baptistery of San Giovanni and then moved to the Cathedral where he will participate in the National Ecclesial Congress. Around noon, he will be in Santissima Annunziata to pray together with a small group of faithful.
After a quick meal at the table of Charity of St. Francis the Poor in Piazza SS. Annunziata, Pope Francis will head to to the Artemio Franchi stadium to celebrate Mass at 3:30 pm.
The Pope’s arrival in the city is a truly exceptional event that will attract thousands of faithful and curious in Florence. It will be even a sort of “fool’s” day for Florence, let’s be clear: in addition to the large influx of people, for safety reasons, there will be significant changes to the road network in the area around the stadium and along the entire route followed by the Pope.
We strongly recommend you to stay away unless you want to participate in these events on Tuesday and be “caught” up in the traffic sure to exist. You can find useful tips on closed roads and public transport on the site of the City of Florence (in Italian): http://www.comune.fi.it/export/sites/retecivica/comune_firenze/
DO YOU HAVE TICKETS FOR THE STADIUM?
The Artemio Franchi Stadium (and the nearby Ridolfi Stadium, which will be open to the high number of presences) can be accessed only with tickets. The access of the faithful to the stadium will be permitted from 11 am to 2 pm.
The tickets have already been assigned and are personal so if you do not have a ticket, it is strongly recommended not to go around the area of the Stadium, as you won’t be able to get in.
On the website of the Diocese of Florence, a useful brochure was published for the faithful attending the Mass, with information on how to get to the Stadium (available only in Italian):
http://www.diocesifirenze.it/diocesifirenze/allegati/25900/“>.
WHERE TO GO IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TICKET
In Piazza della Signoria and Piazza Santa Croce, giant video screens will be set up from which you can follow the day of Pope Francis in Florence (the celebration of Mass and other events in the city).
Otherwise, if you find yourself on the route followed by the Pontiff by car, you can watch the passing and maybe see the Pope up close.
This is the official map of the route followed by Pope Francis during the day:
Click here to see a larger image.
Enjoy next Tuesday, whether from home, in the squares with screens or along the streets of Florence!
About Cristina Romeo
Born in Florence at the end of the fabulous '70s, Cristina has always lived in the famous "cradle of the Renaissance". She's in love with her homeland, but also enjoys traveling and discovering new places. Cristina is mum to a lovely little girl, to whom she hopes to pass on all the passion and love of our precious, wonderful Tuscany.
