Festa della Toscana: B2B merch for Tuscan institutions, sponsors and cultural foundations

Merchandising around the Festa della Toscana calendar

Date

30 November each year, with a regional programme running from late October through early December

Main venues

Palazzo Vecchio and Sala d'Arme in Florence; Palazzo Panciatichi and the Consiglio Regionale; Teatro Verdi (Florence), Teatro dei Rinnovati (Siena), Teatro Morlacchi (Perugia, satellite), Teatro del Giglio (Lucca), Politeama (Pistoia); Palazzo della Carovana (Pisa); the historic centres of Arezzo, Grosseto, Livorno, Prato, Massa, Carrara, Pistoia, Empoli, Montepulciano, Cortona; the schools of every Tuscan province through the regional education programme

Organisation

Regione Toscana, the Consiglio Regionale, the Tuscan Museums Directorate, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, the Tuscan university network (Università di Firenze, Università di Pisa, Università di Siena, Scuola Normale Superiore, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Università per Stranieri di Siena), the regional banking foundations (Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Fondazione Livorno, Fondazione Grosseto, Fondazione Pistoia), the Ufficio Scolastico Regionale and the network of Tuscan municipal administrations

The Festa della Toscana was established by the Tuscan Regional Council in 2000 to commemorate 30 November 1786, the date on which Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Habsburg-Lorraine signed the abolition of the death penalty in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the first de jure abolition by a sovereign state in the modern world. The Tuscan law is celebrated each year with a regional programme of conferences, concerts, theatrical readings, school initiatives, exhibitions and ceremonial acts that runs from late October through early December, with the principal event concentrated on the 30 November date and the preceding week. The calendar engages Florence as the principal stage (Palazzo Vecchio, Sala d'Arme, Consiglio Regionale, the Tuscan universities), the Tuscan provincial capitals (Arezzo, Siena, Pisa, Livorno, Grosseto, Lucca, Pistoia, Prato, Carrara) as satellite venues, and the regional schools through the Ufficio Scolastico Regionale programme. The audience combines the institutions of the regional government, the Tuscan banking foundations, the universities, the libraries, the cultural associations, the diocesan offices, the museums, the schools, the trade unions, the employers' associations and the corporate sponsors that accompany the programme with their own co-branded editions.

For Tuscan institutions, sponsors, banking foundations and corporate teams that wish to mark the Festa della Toscana with their own merchandising — branded editions of the official regional publication, ceremonial gifts for the 30 November ceremony, school kits for the Ufficio Scolastico programme, archival prints for the Palazzo Ducale exhibitions, corporate co-branded editions for the sponsor programmes — planning opens in early September. The production districts to engage are Tuscany for paper and bookbinding (the Fabriano district on its Tuscan flank, the printing houses of Florence, Pisa and Siena), Florence for leather goods and small leather accessories (the Scandicci and Ponte a Greve districts), the Aretino for gold and silver foil work (Arezzo, the goldsmith district), Empoli for glass (the Empoli-Vinci district), Siena for banknote paper and laid paper (the Cartiere Toscane cluster), the Montelupo district for ceramics, the Impruneta district for terracotta, the Tuscan textile districts of Prato for the textile editions and Como silk for the ribbon and packaging. For sponsors operating through the Florence area we also engage the Maniago district (Friuli Venezia Giulia) for the steel objects, the Murano district (Venice) for the limited glass editions, and the Sassuolo district (Emilia Romagna) for the technical ceramic.

From the Milan hub, Corp-Merch.IT runs the entire cycle: kick-off with the director of the Tuscan institution or with the head of the banking foundation's cultural programme, graphic adaptation in coordination with the regional brand book, district producer qualification, physical pre-production sample with Pantone map and structured proposal within 48 working hours of the brief. For programmes that replicate the same ceremonial date over multiple years we set up an annual supply contract with seasonal reviews and dedicated volume pricing. For programmes that touch the Palazzo Vecchio ceremony, the Sala d'Arme ceremony, the Palazzo Panciatichi ceremony, the school programme and the satellite venues (Arezzo, Siena, Pisa, Livorno, Grosseto, Lucca, Pistoia, Prato) we replicate the catalogue with point customisations, shared packaging and consolidated logistics through the regional sorting hubs.

For Italian clients holding a VAT number, invoices are issued via the Agenzia delle Entrate Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) with 22% VAT in EUR; reduced rates of 4%, 5% or 10% apply to eligible product categories (books, editorial print, art pieces, regional cultural publications). Reverse charge applies to intra-EU buyers registered with VIES, split payment applies to public-administration stands, and Codice Destinatario or PEC is used for electronic delivery of the invoice. For corporate clients reporting under CSRD (D.Lgs. 125/2024 transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we provide a sustainability sheet per order with Scope 3 CO₂e estimates aligned with the GHG Protocol, ESRS E1 (Climate Change), E5 (Resource Use) and S2 (Workers in the Value Chain), useful for the institution's non-financial disclosure. For programmes that reach international buyers we operate as Authorised Economic Operator (AEOF) and handle CMR, packing list, origin declaration and customs clearance for the EU, Switzerland, the UK, the United States and the Gulf countries.

Production and logistics around the Festa della Toscana venues

Before launching production we lock artwork, recipient quantities, packaging and named pickup point. The final address must be reconfirmed against the calendar issued by the regional programme and by the operations office of the Tuscan institution, foundation or sponsor: the Palazzo Vecchio and the Sala d'Arme have dedicated vehicular accesses managed by the Florence municipal police with reduced loading windows, the Palazzo Panciatichi (Consiglio Regionale) coordinates deliveries through the regional porter service, the Tuscan provincial capitals (Arezzo, Siena, Pisa, Livorno, Grosseto, Lucca, Pistoia, Prato) have ZTL accesses that need to be coordinated with the local police referents, while the historic centres (Montepulciano, Cortona, San Gimignano, Volterra, Massa Marittima) have further pedestrian-only stretches that require small vehicles. For the school programme coordinated by the Ufficio Scolastico Regionale, deliveries follow the indications of the school principals of every Tuscan province.

For a programme routed via Milan, deliveries are consolidated at the hub and shipped to the destination venue in 24–48-hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express, by appointment for ZTL venues. For programmes that touch multiple Tuscan venues we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes, with different vehicles for each leg and phone pre-notice to the local referent. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we offer appointment delivery with phone pre-notice and, on request, on-site set-up by our staff at the Sala d'Arme ceremony or at the regional schools. For fragile materials (crystal, hand-engraved silverware, fine ceramic, archival prints) we coordinate temperature-controlled transport with specialised partners and dedicated packaging.

For programmes that include satellite events in the Tuscan provinces (school programmes in Arezzo, Siena, Pisa, Livorno, Grosseto, Lucca, Pistoia, Prato, Massa Carrara), the regional co-branded ceremonies with the banking foundations and the editions coordinated with the Tuscan universities, we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes and prepare a bilingual packing list for each leg. For partnerships with the Tuscan museums, libraries and diocesan offices we replicate the ceremonial programme with point customisations. For those who want a continuing presence across the Tuscan cultural calendar we replicate the service on the Notte dei Bianchi, on the Estate Fiorentina, on the Tuscan autumn museum calendar and on the seasonal editions of the Tuscan universities and the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi.

Frequently asked questions