Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Italy

Wearing a Venetian mask
Venice becomes a city of masks and mystery every February during carnevale.
  • Beware: Festival dates are often not posted online until just before the event (or may even be posted incorrectly, especially in Italy). Verify the correct festival dates before planning a trip around a specific festival. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for Italy.
  • This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Italy. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
  • See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe

2024

January 1:  New Year's Day (closures)

Through January 1:  Umbria Jazz Winter, Orvieto

January 6:  Epiphany (and Epiphany Fair religious festival in Rome; closures)

January–March:  Carnival celebrations throughout Italy (street parties)

January 27–February 13:  Carnevale, Venice (most festive on weekends; particularly quiet during first week)

February 3–5:  Festa di Sant'Agata, Catania (processions and fireworks)

February 3, 8, 11, 13, 18, 24:  Carnevale di Viareggio, Tuscany

February 11–13:  Ivrea Carnevale (orange-throwing free-for-all on last three days; smaller festivities in week prior)

March 17:  Rome Marathon

March 29:  Good Friday (processions across Italy, including Procession of I Misteri in Trapani, Sicily)

March 31:  Easter Sunday (and Scoppio del Carro fireworks, closures); also Rome's City Birthday Celebration (parades, fireworks)

April 1:  Easter Monday (closures)

April 14–17:  Vinitaly, Verona (wine festival)

April 21:  Rome's city birthday celebration (parades, fireworks)

April 24–28:  Artichoke Festival, Chiusure (near Pienza)

April 25:  Liberation Day (parades across Italy, particularly big in Rome; some closures); also St. Mark's Day, Venice (traghetto races, concerts)

May 1:  May Day/Labor Day (closures)

May 8–11:  Calendimaggio, Assisi (medieval-themed celebration of spring)

May 9:  Ascension; biggest event is Venice's Festa della Sensa (parade of traditional boats and ritual of Venice's "marriage" to the sea); also Florence's Cricket Festival (Festa del Grillo; music, entertainment, food, crickets sold in cages)

May 17–21:  Infiorata di Noto, Sicily (flower festival)

May 18:  Sagra del Limone, Monterosso, Cinque Terre (lemon festival)

May 24–26:  Feast of San Giorgio, Ragusa Ibla, Sicily (processions, fireworks, mostly on final day)

May 25:  Festa delle Madonna delle Milizie, Scicli, Sicily (processions, Norman battle reenactments)

May 26 (likely):  Vogalonga Regatta, Venice (noncompetitive rowing "race" celebrating traditional Venetian boats)

May 30:  Corpus Domini (festivals and processions across Italy, especially in Rome, Orvieto, and Castelrotto/Kastelruth)

June:  Fashion conventions, Florence

June–August:  Verona opera season

June 1–2:  Le Infiorate, Spello (giant flower-carpet competition near Assisi; similar infiorate are also common elsewhere in Italy this weekend)

June 2:  Anniversary of the Republic (cross Italy but with grandest festivities in Rome; closures)

June 14–15:  Kastelruther Spatzen Open Air, Seis (concert series featuring hometown Schlager group)

June 16–17:  Feast of St. Ranieri, Pisa (illuminated facades, candles on the Arno, fireworks, regatta)

Mid-June–late July:  Florence Dance Festival

June 24:  Feast of St. John the Baptist, northwestern Italy, especially Florence (water lanterns, boat races, dancing, medieval tournaments, fireworks; many celebrations held on nearby weekends; some closures), and Calcio Storico, Florence (Renaissance ball game played on Piazza Santa Croce)

June 28–July 14:  Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi (visual arts and performances from US and across Europe, near Orvieto)

June 29:  Gioco del Ponte, Pisa (colorful parade and "battle" for control of the Ponte di Mezzo)

Late June–early September:  Outdoor cinema season, Florence (contemporary films)

June 29:  Sts. Peter and Paul Day (most fervently celebrated in Rome with fireworks and flower carpet in St. Peter's Square, and with three-day festival in Modica, Sicily)

July 2:  Palio horse race, Siena

Early July:  Marostica Summer Festival (eclectic concert series, northwest of Venice)

July 5–14:  Umbria Jazz, Perugia

July 12–September 6 (likely):  Stresa Festival, Lake Maggiore (classical music)

Mid-July:  Noantri Festival, Trastevere district, Rome (music and folklore)

July 10–15:  Feast of Saint Rosalia ("U Fistinu"), Palermo, Sicily (huge processions on last two days; fireworks on July 14)

July 19–21:  Festa del Redentore, Venice (Feast of the Redeemer; regatta, fireworks)

July 26–28:  Unicorn Festival, Vinci, Tuscany (fantasy concerts, parades, exhibitions)

August 15:  Ferragosto (Feast of the Assumption; closures)

August 16:  Palio horse race, Siena

September–October:  Chestnut festivals (chestnut roasts and related festivities; most towns, mainly north of Rome)

September 1:  Historical Regatta, Venice

September 7:  Festa della Rificolona, Florence (children's procession with lanterns, street performances, parade)

September 13:  Volto Santo, Lucca (procession and fair)

September 19:  Feast of St. Januarius, Naples (La Festa di San Gennaro; closures)

October 11–13:  Kastelruther Spatzenfest (concert series featuring hometown Schlager group), Castelrotto/Kastelruth

October 11–13 & 18–20 (likely):  Pistachio Festival (Sagra del Pistacchio), Bronte (near Mount Etna), Sicily

October 12–December 8:  International White Truffle Fair, Alba (between Turin and Genoa; cooking demonstrations, historical reenactments, truffles by the pound)

November 1:  All Saints' Day (some closures)

November 2–10:  Festival dei Popoli, Florence (documentary films)

November 21:  Feast of Our Lady of Good Health, Venice (religious festival, bridge built over Grand Canal)

November 30–December 20:  Feast of Santa Lucia, Siracusa, Sicily (culminates with procession of the saint's statue and relics to the cathedral on December 13)

December:  Christmas Market on Piazza Navona, Rome; crèches in churches throughout Italy

December 7:  Feast of St. Ambrose, Milan (special street markets, closures)

December 8:  Feast of the Immaculate Conception (closures)

December 25:  Christmas (closures)

December 26:  St. Stephen's Day (closures)

December 26–30 (likely):  Umbria Jazz Winter, Orvieto