Many foreigners aren't aware of the fact that Tuscans have quite the reputation of being merciless prankers and, occasionally, a bit of a jerk. While untrue, it's undeniable that we have a penchant for making fun of everyone and everything all the time. That's why you expect all sorts of shenanigans from us lot. We definitely love to have a laugh but sometimes it comes with the best of intentions.

Take for example the case of a very merry bunch of pranksters that back in 2007 decided to marry their two greatest passions: Santa Claus and helping others. In these 15 years this highly creative charity has gone from strength to strength, doing a lot of good to a lot of people while never taking itself too seriously.

In order to close the year on a positive note, this week What's Up Tuscany will bring you to Florence to meet the merry pranksters of the Santa Claus' Company, the funniest charity in Tuscany. If you listen to the entire episode you will know about this charity started out as a bit of a laugh, how their ambition and skills grew with time and what makes them so different from the other charities. To sum things up, a historical note on another ancient charity that has shaped this land, the Misericordia, which to this day has thousands of volunteers helping others all over this region.

When we're not busy researching, writing or editing the podcast, we share a lot of Tuscany related stuff on our Twitter account. Follow us at @WhatsUpTuscany, it's the best way to get the most of this podcast and take a front seat on how it develops. We'd be glad to meet you!
Email: podcast@larno.it
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it
Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany

LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY)
https://lacompagniadibabbonatale.it/
https://www.ioamofirenze.it/la-compagnia-dei-babbi-natale/
https://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2022/12/12/news/al_maggio_successo_della_compagnia_di_babbi_natale-378739226/
https://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2022/12/20/news/firenze_piagge_compagnia_babbo_natale_regali_roberto_giacinti-379974216/
https://lacompagniadibabbonatale.it/progetti-di-sostegno/
https://www.misericordie.it/chi-siamo
https://www.misericordie.it/storia

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental)
Catmosphere - Candy-Coloured Sky (Instrumental)
Romos - Helios (Instrumental)
A Himitsu - Icy Vindur (Instrumental)
Wayne John Bradley - Waiting
Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental
All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental
https://soundcloud.com/argofox/catmosphere-candy-coloured-sky
https://soundcloud.com/argofox/romos-helios
https://soundcloud.com/argofox/a-himitsu-icy-vindur
https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/waiting-original-uplifting-indie-pop-style-instrumentalcreative-commons
https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/blues-rock-original-instrumentalcreative-commons
http://www.pipechoir.com/