Italy's 13 holidays: When cities close and why patron saints matter

Italy runs on 12 national public holidays plus a 13th day unique to each city — the local patron saint festival — so the calendar you experience depends partly on where you are. Expect the biggest crowds around Christmas/New Year, Easter, and the late-April to early-June stretch of Liberation Day, Labour Day and Republic Day, since these coincide with peak tourist flows.

Which holidays actually shut things down?

The 12 national holidays are: New Year's Day (1 Jan), Epiphany (6 Jan), Easter Monday, Liberation Day (25 Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Republic Day (2 Jun), Assumption Day (15 Aug), Feast of St Francis of Assisi (4 Oct), All Saints' Day (1 Nov), Immaculate Conception (8 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec) and Saint Stephen's Day (26 Dec). Schools close on all of these, plus Sundays and the local patron saint day, for the 2026/2027 school year. One date to note: 17 March (Giornata dell'Unità nazionale, della Costituzione, dell'inno e della bandiera) is a national observance but not a public holiday — offices don't reduce hours for it.

What's the deal with each city's own holiday?

Beyond the 12 national days, every Italian city has a 13th local holiday for its patron saint, and schools there close too. Examples: Rome (29 June, Saints Peter and Paul), Florence (24 June, Saint John the Baptist), Naples (19 September, Saint Januarius), Venice (21 November, Saint Mary of Health), and Milan (7 December, Saint Ambrose). If you're in one of these cities on its patron saint date, treat it like a public holiday locally — schools shut and it's a normal holiday for residents there, even though it's an ordinary working day elsewhere in the country.

Do long weekends happen often?

Yes. When a holiday lands on a Tuesday or Thursday, Italians commonly take a "ponte" (bridge) day to stretch it into a long weekend, and schools are usually closed during a ponte too. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, workers get a substitute paid day by law, though this doesn't create an extra public holiday for visitors to plan around.

When should I expect the most tourists?

Peak flows cluster around three windows: winter (Christmas through New Year's Day), spring (the full Easter period — Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Day and Easter Monday), and summer, plus the late-spring cluster of Liberation Day, Labour Day and Republic Day. The Christmas season itself runs long in Italy — from Immaculate Conception on 8 December, when trees traditionally go up, through Epiphany on 6 January.

FAQ

Does 17 March count as a public holiday? No — it's a national observance (Giornata dell'Unità nazionale, della Costituzione, dell'inno e della bandiera) but does not reduce office working hours or count among the 12 official holidays.

Are patron saint days holidays everywhere in Italy? No — each city has its own patron saint date, and it's only a local holiday in that specific city, not nationwide.

How long does the Italian Christmas season last? From 8 December (Immaculate Conception) through 6 January (Epiphany) the following year.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Italy
• https://www.mim.gov.it/-/calendario-delle-festivita-e-degli-esami-anno-scolastico-2026-2027
• https://presidenza.governo.it/ufficio_cerimoniale/cerimoniale/giornate.html