Since about 9 o'clock this morning, Tuesday 6 January (Befana - Epiphany), 2026, it has been snowing over much of Tuscany. Large flakes started falling down to about 450m and throughout the rest of the day the snow altitude limit has been dropping further so that by afternoon it was lightly snowing even in Florence.
Obviously it snows every year in the Tuscan mountains and on the peaks of the higher ranges of hills, but snowfall has been decreasing for at least the past 30 years. In Montefioralle (450m), which I visit often in winter, there used to be as much as two feet of snow in the piazza and on the vineyards and olive groves round about, often lasting for a week two at a time during February and a bit less in January. Now it hardly snows at all. However, today there has been quite a heavy snowfall with vineyards and live trees laden with snow.
Cold weather and snow fall are quite important in Tuscany. It is extremely beneficial when the temperature drops below zero centigrade preferably for four or five days. This kills off the overwintering larvae of the olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae), Tuscany's most significant olive pest. Cold weather also helps suppress fungal diseases such as Peacock Spot (Spilocaea oleaginea).
Olive trees require a specific number of "chill hours" (typically temperatures between ca. 5 C and ca. 15 C) to break dormancy. In addition, consistent cold weather ensures "uniform bud break," synchronising the flowering period across an olive grove. This synchrony is vital for effective pollination and fruit set.
The exact circumstances of a drop in temperature to below zero centigrade matters a lot. The "Great Freeze" of 1965 which killed off at least 800,000 olive trees in Tuscany, began with a heavy snow fall which by itself doesn't particularly bother olive trees (see the photo below). The temperature then began to rise, cause the snow to become slushy, and then within a matter of hours it plunged to -20 C basically encasing the olive trees in ice. They stayed that way for several days and were killed. This was a devastating economic hit to the Region. All the trees were replanted and after some years became productive again. We had a "mini-freeze" in 2021 which caused the trunks and larger branches of the olive trees, including mine, to burst but hard pruning and trimming saved most of them, and after two years production returned.
For those of us who have a well or bore hole to provide us with water, a snow fall is much better than a shower of rain to replenish the aquifer. That's be cause in the hill rural areas of Tuscany, the ground is often very hard due to its high calcium content. Rain water thus tends to run off into seasonal torrents (borri) and eventually back into the sea where it came from. Only a small percentage of the rain soaks into the ground. In contrast, because snow stays put for hours or even days, as it slowly melts, most of the melt water soaks into the ground and replenishes the aquifers.
In any case, we're now all enjoying the beautiful views of the Tuscany countryside under snow. And here's a hoopoe that seems total oblivious to the snow.
More about Radda in Chianti.
The Pros and Cons of visiting Tuscany during winter.
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Author: Anna Maria Baldini
