Public Holidays in Italy: 12 Days a Year When Everything Shuts Down

Italy celebrates 12 official public holidays every year, when shops, offices and even restaurants close. On top of that, each city has its own local day honoring its patron saint, plus a phenomenon Italians call «ponte» — extra days off when a holiday falls in the middle of the week. This has a serious impact on business and meeting planning.

Twelve official holidays

January 1 — New Year’s Day. Everything is closed, everyone is sleeping.

January 6 — Epiphany (Befana in Italian). This day commemorates the three kings. It’s an important religious holiday, though in folk tradition it’s associated with gifts and sweets.

April holidays. April 5 — official Catholic Easter Sunday. April 6 — Easter Monday (Lunedì dell’Angelo), when people go to church with olive branches.

April 25 — Liberation Day. This political holiday marks Italy’s official liberation during World War II.

May 1 — Labour Day, as in many countries around the world.

June 2 — Republic Day. This day marks the proclamation of the Italian Republic and its constitution.

August 15 — Ferragosto. This is one of the most important holidays of the year. Officially it’s the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but for Italians it’s primarily vacation time. On this day almost nothing operates — everything is closed, and even if it’s already a day off, it’s the most inconvenient day of the whole year to try to get work done.

November 1 — All Saints’ Day, or Day of the Dead. Celebrated differently across regions.

December 8 — Immaculate Conception (Immacolata Concezione). An important Catholic holiday.

December 25 — Christmas Day. The true holy day.

December 26 — St. Stephen’s Day.

Local holidays in each city

Besides the official 12 days, every city has an extra holiday — the day of its patron saint. In Milan it’s December 7, the feast of Saint Ambrose (Sant’Ambrogio), after whom one of Milan’s metro stations is named. In all major cities such days are carefully observed, and institutions may be closed.

For example, in Verona a day in May marks the city’s patron saint day. Anyone planning to submit documents or handle bureaucratic matters in a specific city should check the calendar of local holidays.

What is «ponte» and how it works

«Ponte» translates as «bridge» — it’s the phenomenon where a holiday falls in the middle of the week, and people often take the neighboring day off to get a longer break.

Here’s roughly how it works: if a holiday falls on a Tuesday, Monday often becomes a day off too, creating a four-day break (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday). If the holiday falls on a Thursday, people take Friday off. It’s an informal but very well-established practice: Italians consider it pointless to go back to work for just one day.

The result: on such days cities empty out, everyone eats by the coast, professionals don’t answer emails, and shops and offices are closed. In the evening, when people return to the cities, huge traffic jams form.

How holidays fall in 2026

Holidays fall on different weekdays each year, which changes the «ponte» schedule.

In 2026: December 25 (Christmas) falls on a Friday — convenient. December 26 falls on a Saturday — unlucky. December 8 (Immaculate Conception) falls on a Tuesday — good, you can take Monday off and get a four-day break. November 1 (All Saints’ Day) falls on a Sunday — unlucky. August 15 (Ferragosto) falls on a Saturday — unlucky. June 2 (Republic Day) falls on a Tuesday. May 1 (Labour Day) falls on a Friday — fairly poor timing.

December 7 (Saint Ambrose’s Day in Milan) falls on a Monday, meaning employers won’t be pleased.

How to check holidays online

Every year it’s easy to find a complete calendar of all Italian holidays online and see which weekdays they fall on. You can do this for free via Google or local resources.