If you’re planning a trip to la bella Italia (beautiful Italy)—or maybe even living there as an expat or digital nomad—you’ll want to get your Italian holidays straight to properly join in on the festivities! Or perhaps to avoid the crowds. After all, Italy has 12 public holidays, about 7 state commemoration days, and around 25 celebratory days, including some international celebrations like Earth Day.
In the list below, we’ve included bank holidays, where businesses are known to close and festivities are the most inspired. Days like National Unity Day, a semi-official celebratory day to honor the unification of Italy, may have extra celebrations and possible interruptions in the normal flow of things. Each region and town also has its own festa del santo patrono (patron saint feast), and those days may be local public holidays.
Note that every Sunday in Italy is a public holiday, so plan accordingly!
Consider learning Italian to make the most of the festivities. Dynamic Immersion, with its upbeat and easy-to-digest lessons, is the perfect way to get ready for Italian sightseeing, fantastic food, deep-rooted traditions, and some great wine!
Complete list of public holidays in Italy
Before we get into details, here’s a list of all bank holidays in Italy this year so you can plan your visit accordingly.
- January 1: Capodanno (New Year’s Day)
- January 6: Epifania (Epiphany)
- March or April: Pasqua (Easter Sunday)
- March or April: Pasquetta–also known as Lunedì dell’Angelo or Lunedì in Albis or (Easter Monday)
- April 25: Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day)
- May 1: Festa del Lavoro–also known as Festa dei Lavoratori (Labor Day)
- June 2: Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day)
- August 15: Assunzione–also known as Ferragosto (Assumption Day)
- November 1: Tutti i Santi–also known as Ognissanti (All Saints’ Day)
- December 8: Immacolata Concezione–also known as Immacolata (Immaculate Conception)
- December 25: Natale (Christmas Day)
- December 26: Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s Day)
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January
January 1: Capodanno (New Year’s Day)
As in most countries, celebrations for New Year’s Day start the night before. Most people have dinner with their friends and family, which might include risotto, raisins, lentils, or panettone (a spongy bread with dried fruit). Each dish is thought to bring good luck or money. Though you probably won’t see them outside of stores and outdoor markets, Italians wear red underwear for luck too.
Most large and small cities will have fireworks at midnight, but if you’re in southern Italy around this time you might see more than just sparks. Southern Italians throw old items out of windows to ring in the new year! Other regional festivities include the annual river dive in Rome, where brave Speedo-clad souls jump into the icy Tiber River at dawn.
Included above is a video of Florence, Italy when the clock strikes midnight!
January 6: Epifania (Epiphany)
Though it’s not widely celebrated in the United States, Epifania in majority-Catholic countries like Italy is the day when children receive their Christmas presents. And in Italy it’s an official holiday! La Befana, a friendly broom-riding witch, is the star of the day for children, bringing presents of toys and candy. She is said to have been asked by the Three Kings how to find the Christ child, but she refused. Later regretting her act, she spends the Epiphany doling out presents and looking for Baby Jesus.
Across Italy, the celebration begins the night before when many places have a bonfire, to burn the effigy representing the old year. In Venice, festive groups of rowers dress up as Befana and parade through the canals.
March (or April)
Dates vary: Pasqua (Easter Sunday)
Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the spring equinox, so dates change from year to year. Catholic Italians will consider the whole week from Palm Sunday to Easter Monday as Settimana Santa (Holy Week), but many Italians, religious or not, take this week off for vacation.
Be forewarned: some eating establishments and shops may be closed, so you might want to investigate ahead of time. Most museums and other tourist attractions will be open, but, of course, don’t expect the Vatican to be. The pope will be busy with Easter mass at St. Peter’s.
Religious processions with large statues carried on decorated floats abound this week, especially on Holy Friday and the days leading up to it. At the Coliseum, a Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) happens, culminating in a burning cross.
If you love bread and pastries, you’ll be able to find special Easter treats around this time like colomba, a dove-shaped sweet bread. Bakers and others may take eggs, including hard-boiled ones, to mass to be blessed. It’s common to eat abbacchio (lamb) this week and spend Easter Sunday with family.
Dates vary: Pasquetta–also known as Lunedì dell’Angelo or Lunedì Albis (Easter Monday)
Pasquetta is often spent with friends, especially for picnics or outdoor dining. Italians, who like to go to the country or mountainside for Pasquetta, may take Easter leftovers on their picnics, host a barbecue, or take along some pasta and antipasto. Of course, for wine lovers, a good bottle of vino is never far away.
People may play an Easter egg game in which they hit the tips of (unadorned) hard boiled eggs against their opponent’s egg. The owner of the unbroken egg gets to keep the broken one.
As on Easter Sunday, some small businesses may be closed, but most places for tourists will be open. Keep in mind that some museums usually close on Mondays anyway, so plan ahead.
April
April 25: Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day)
This day recalls the grand day when resistance fighters and Allied forces, which included the Italian Socialist movement and about 70,000 women, proclaimed victory against Nazi Germany and the fascist Italian Social Republic.
Nowadays, the National Association of Italian Partisans carries on the memory of the resistance and organizes parades to commemorate this important day. The prime minister, president, and other politicians often participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Altare della Patria (National Altar) in Rome. Civilians also lay wreaths at tombstones and frequently sing “Bella Ciao,” a protest song. Italians also take the opportunity to feast on this day.
May
May 1: Festa del Lavoro–also known as Festa dei Lavoratori (Labor Day)
Primo Maggio (May 1) is pretty much Labor Day all over the world, except in the United States and Canada. The day remembers the efforts of the working class, including strikes for things we take for granted nowadays like the eight-hour work day. While it’s not uncommon to see political rallies and marches on this day in Italy, Primo Maggio is mostly a time for leisure.
Folks in Italy spend the day with friends and family, and trade unionists always organize a massive concert in Rome on the Piazza San Giovanni with various musical artists. It’s free for all in attendance! The Italian constitution upholds the right to work and the right to strike, so it makes sense that residents take the day to partake in both.
June
June 2: Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day)
Italy’s National Day celebrates the moment right after World War II when Italians voted to form a unitary parliamentary republic, ousting the monarchy following the fall of fascism in Italy. Nowadays, a wreath is laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Altare della Patria in Rome, and towns all over the country have parades. Air shows, with airplanes spewing Italian-flag-colored smoke, are also part of the patriotic mood.
After the wreath-laying event, the gardens of the Palazzo di Quirinale (Quirinale Palace), where the president resides, are kept open to the public.
August
August 15: Assunzione–also known as Ferragosto (Assumption Day)
Ferragosto began as a Roman holiday in which workers rested and received a bonus on August 1. Then, centuries after the Romans accepted Christianity, the Catholic church changed the date during the Renaissance to align with the Assumption of Mary on August 15.
During Mussolini’s reign, Ferragosto turned into a three-day weekend to provide working classes with the opportunity to visit important cultural institutions and monuments in Italy’s biggest cities. In time, Ferragosto morphed into taking most of August off. However, in the last 15 years or so, it’s gone back to being a long weekend, luckily sans the fascism.
Today, Italians also travel on this long weekend, mostly to the seaside or the mountains. Parties, bonfires, fireworks, and barbecues are all part of the fun. Some towns like Mondavio or Siena have special festivals, and religious processions honoring the Virgin Mary are also part of this holiday. In Santa Maria di Leuca the statue gets transported in a boat!
Be aware that many places close down for this weekend, including some museums, so inquire ahead of time.
November
November 1: Tutti i Santi–also known as Ognissanti (All Saints’ Day)
An official holiday no matter what day of the week it falls on, some businesses will take off a long ponte (bridge, meaning a long weekend) on All Saints’ Day, especially because the next day is All Souls’ Day. As the name suggests, Tutti i Santi is a day to celebrate all of the saints of the Catholic faith. Many families attend mass on this day, followed by a large meal.
You’ll find two kinds of special breads associated with this day: castagnaccio, made with chestnut flour, and pane dei santi or pane co’ santi (Saints’ Bread or Bread with Saints, respectively), made with nuts and dried fruits. The next day Italians may pay their respects at the gravesites of dead family members.
December
December 25: Natale (Christmas Day)
Remember that the heart of Catholicism is in Italy, so Christmas is a big deal. It’s also a lovely time to visit Italy. Look for Christmas lights, holiday markets, and charming trees along with the lighting of menorahs for Hanukkah. Some of the markets are more commercial, so try to ask a local for suggestions.
Italians will generally celebrate Christmas starting on Christmas Eve when they give up meat for the day before attending midnight mass. The next day, they might eat a large meal of pasta or, if they’re Jewish, have torta di ricotta (ricotta pie) for dessert.
You’ll see plenty of Nativity scenes, especially in Naples, where you can also eat struffoli (donut-like pastries covered in honey). Attend the Natale di Vetro (Christmas of Glass) in Venice and eat panforte (panettone) in Florence.
December 26: Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s Day)
St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, but December 26 is not a solemn day. Rather, it’s a time for Italians to be out and about after staying home with friends and family the day before.
On St. Stephen’s Day, Italians like to enjoy a walk around the neighborhood to look at the Nativity scenes and visit churches or hospitals where they may choose to make a donation. Italians also like to view living nativity scenes on this day, acted out by real people, especially in Sicily. There’s also a basilica in Rome dedicated to St. Stephen that folks like to visit.
Fun festivals in Italy
In Italy, the party is never truly over. There are plenty of regional festivals that give way to unforgettable celebrations, some of which are more elaborate than the holidays listed above. Here’s a small handful of highlights to include on your next trip to Venice, Spello, and beyond:
- Carnevale di Venezia (Venice Carnival): Dates change slightly every year, but the most famous carnival in Italy generally falls in February. Get ready for masked costumed parades and contests, themed dinners where costumes are obligatory, and the Festa delle Marie when young women compete in a beauty contest dressed in luxurious costumes based on styles from previous centuries.
- Infiorate di Spello (Spello Flower Festival): Taking place around Corpus Christi (60 days after Easter), in the town of Spello of central Italy, the Infiorate features large and elaborate murals made entirely of flowers. Participants compete for prizes by creating this ephemeral art on the ancient streets of lovely Spello.
- Sagra dei Limoni (Lemon Festival): Held in Monterosso on the western coast of northern Italy in May, the event celebrates spring and…lemons. Expect all sorts of pastries and delicacies made with the fruit, lemon decorations, lemon drinks, and a gastronomic walk.
- Biennale Cinema (Venice International Film Festival): This is one of the most famous film festivals in the world and forms part of the larger Venice Biennale, important cultural events of art, film, architecture, and more. Though some festivals take place every two years, the film festival happens annually in early September.
- Umbria Jazz: Happening at three locations in July, September, and December, this festival doesn’t just showcase jazz musicians. Previous iterations have featured Grammy-award winners and the likes of Carla Bley, Lenny Kravitz, and Herbie Hancock.
Get to know Italy even better with Rosetta Stone
Italy is known worldwide for its impressive ancient ruins, stunning southern beaches, and reverent approach to coffee and winemaking. But to get to know the real Italy, you’ll need to connect with the communities that make everyday life so vibrant. Partaking in holiday festivities is one way to experience life in Italy firsthand. Why not take your cultural immersion a step further and learn Italian?
Rosetta Stone can help you master italiano (Italian) without the endless memorization. Instead, learn how to enjoy la dolce vita (the sweet life) by learning Italian like you acquired your mother tongue. You’ll have access to a phrasebook too in case you get in a tight spot. Our lessons are designed to have you speaking Italian presto (right away)!
Written by Rowena Galavitz
Rowena Galavitz is a Spanish translator, bilingual copy editor, and language and literature instructor with three master’s degrees who loves Spanish and all things Mexico.
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