The event, called Rural Expo, will be taking place from 15th to 18th September and will be offering a wide overview of the rural world and traditions of country life in Tuscany.

The Province of Florence will be presenting three important areas: animal husbandry, horse racing and hunting.

Other important areas – such as the cultivation of cereals, forests, grape and olive farming, fishing, flower growing and management of mountain environments – will also be presented. These themes are closely connected with the morphology of the Tuscan countryside.

The four days of events at the Cascine will include opportunities for a debate among the various institutions that are involved in these aspects of rural life in Tuscany and in the Mediterranean, together with presentations of well-established customs such as markets selling local produce and sustainable markets. There will also be conferences and round tables about oil, wine, holiday farms, themes that are important for rural economy.

But Rural Expo is also a big agricultural fair, with food tastings, companies exhibiting and practical demonstration. It will fascinate children and allow the Cascine Park in Florence to come back to its origins as a large rural space.

Free entrance. Rural Expo 2011 has the following opening hours:
Thursday 15th September from 12 noon to 8 pm.
Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th from 10 am to 8 pm.

For further information consult the website