Public holidays in Italy
12 days in 2026 · 12 in 2027
Back to ItalyNext public holiday
St. Francis of Assisi's Day
San Francesco d'Assisi
After it: All Saints Day, Sunday 1 November
Sunday, 4 October 2026
Italy has 13 national public holidays in 2026 and in 2027, Easter Sunday among them, since Italian law treats every Sunday as a holiday. Seven fall on a weekday in each year. The list grew by one in 2026: Law No. 151 of 8 October 2025 made 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, a public holiday from 1 January 2026. In its first year it falls on a Sunday; in 2027 it lands on a Monday.
Every comune adds a day of its own, the feast of its patron saint, kept only within its boundaries: 29 June in Rome, 7 December in Milan, 19 September in Naples and 24 June in Florence. In South Tyrol, Whit Monday takes the place of the patron saint's day.
A holiday that lands on a weekend is not moved to a weekday. For one that falls on a Sunday, workers receive an extra paid day by law instead. A holiday on a Tuesday or a Thursday invites a ponte, a bridge: the Monday or Friday between it and the weekend taken as leave, often with schools closed too.
- Days off in 2026
- 12Not counting Easter Sunday, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 7Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 5Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 3and 4 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Italy in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayCapodannoNew Year's Day, listed in Law No. 260 of 1949 as the first day of the year.Thursday
- 6 January: EpiphanyEpifaniaEpiphany, known too as La Befana. It closes the Christmas season that opens on 8 December.Tuesday
- 6 April: Easter MondayLunedì dell'AngeloEaster Monday, the Monday of the Angel, most often called Pasquetta. A civil day added to lengthen Easter rather than a church feast.MondayDate moves
- 25 April: Liberation DayFesta della LiberazioneLiberation Day. On 25 April 1945 the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy proclaimed the insurrection against the German occupation and the Italian Social Republic by radio.Saturday
- 1 May: International Workers DayFesta del LavoroLabour Day, also called Festa dei Lavoratori. With 25 April and 2 June it is one of three civil holidays that bring peaks of domestic travel.Friday
- 2 June: Republic DayFesta della RepubblicaRepublic Day, the national day, marking the referendum of 1946 that made Italy a republic. Rome holds a military parade along Via dei Fori Imperiali.Tuesday
- 15 August: Assumption DayFerragosto o AssunzioneThe Assumption of Mary and Ferragosto on the same date, one of the peaks of the summer travel season.Saturday
- 4 October: St. Francis of Assisi's DaySan Francesco d'AssisiSt Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy. A day off from 2026 under Law No. 151 of 2025; until then only a civil solemnity, shared with St Catherine of Siena.Sunday
- 1 November: All Saints DayTutti i SantiAll Saints' Day, also Ognissanti. Travel peaks around it, above all in a year with a ponte.Sunday
- 8 December: Immaculate ConceptionImmacolata ConcezioneThe Immaculate Conception. Christmas trees traditionally go up on this day, which opens the Christmas season.Tuesday
- 25 December: Christmas DayNataleChristmas Day. The Italian name comes from the Latin natalis, birth.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DaySanto StefanoSt Stephen's Day. An ordinary working day until 1947, when it was made a holiday to give Christmas a second day.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Italy in 2026
Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.
- 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 4daysSat 3 Jan to Tue 6 JanWith Mon 5 Jan taken as leave · Epiphany
- 3daysSat 4 Apr to Mon 6 AprEaster Monday
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayInternational Workers Day
- 4daysSat 30 May to Tue 2 JunWith Mon 1 Jun taken as leave · Republic Day
- 4daysSat 5 Dec to Tue 8 DecWith Mon 7 Dec taken as leave · Immaculate Conception
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Italy in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayCapodannoFriday
- 6 January: EpiphanyEpifaniaWednesday
- 29 March: Easter MondayLunedì dell'AngeloMondayDate moves
- 25 April: Liberation DayFesta della LiberazioneSunday
- 1 May: International Workers DayFesta del LavoroSaturday
- 2 June: Republic DayFesta della RepubblicaWednesday
- 15 August: Assumption DayFerragosto o AssunzioneSunday
- 4 October: St. Francis of Assisi's DaySan Francesco d'AssisiMonday
- 1 November: All Saints DayTutti i SantiMonday
- 8 December: Immaculate ConceptionImmacolata ConcezioneWednesday
- 25 December: Christmas DayNataleSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DaySanto StefanoSunday
Regional
Holidays kept in parts of Italy
Public holidays in 2026 that are days off only in the regions listed, by their ISO 3166-2 codes.
- 25 May: Whit MondayLunedì di PentecosteIT-BZWhit Monday, kept in South Tyrol in place of a patron saint's day.MondayDate moves
Law No. 54 of 5 March 1977, passed during the austerity that followed the 1973 oil crisis, took five days off the civil calendar: St Joseph on 19 March, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Saints Peter and Paul on 29 June, and 4 November. Peter and Paul survived only in Rome, as the city's patron saints. National Unity and Armed Forces Day, kept on 4 November since 1919 for the armistice that ended the war with Austria-Hungary, moved to the first Sunday of November.
Before 2026, 4 October was a civil solemnity: flags flew on public buildings for Francis and Catherine of Siena, the two patron saints of Italy, but it was not a day off. The same status still applies to 4 November, 11 February for the Lateran Pacts and 10 February, the Day of Remembrance for the Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles.
17 March, the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, was a day off only in the anniversary years 1911, 1961 and 2011. Law No. 222 of 23 November 2012 made it the Day of National Unity, the Constitution, the Anthem and the Flag, with flags and ceremonies but no shorter working hours.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Italy
How many public holidays does Italy have in 2026?
Thirteen national ones, counting Easter Sunday, plus the patron saint's day of each town. Six of the thirteen fall on a weekend in 2026: Easter Sunday on 5 April, Liberation Day on Saturday 25 April, Ferragosto on Saturday 15 August, St Francis on Sunday 4 October, All Saints on Sunday 1 November and St Stephen on Saturday 26 December. None of them is moved to a weekday.
Is 4 October a public holiday in Italy?
Yes, from 2026. Law No. 151 of 8 October 2025, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale two days later, added the feast of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, to the list of holidays in Law No. 260 of 1949, in force from 1 January 2026. The first one falls on a Sunday; on Monday 4 October 2027 it makes a three-day weekend.
What happens when an Italian holiday falls on a Sunday?
The day is not moved. Italy has no substitute Monday, so a holiday that lands on a weekend is lost as a day off. Workers receive an extra paid day by law for a holiday that falls on a Sunday instead, a rule known as the doppio rosso, the double red, after the colour calendars print both in. Leaving Easter aside, in 2026 that applies to 4 October and 1 November.
What is a ponte, and where are the ponti in 2026?
A ponte, a bridge, is a working day taken as leave to join a holiday to the weekend. 2026 has four: Friday 2 January after New Year's Day, Monday 5 January before Epiphany, Monday 1 June before Republic Day and Monday 7 December before the Immaculate Conception. In Milan that Monday is already the feast of St Ambrose, so the city has four days off from 5 to 8 December without taking leave.
What are the long weekends in Italy in 2027?
Four need no leave. New Year's Day falls on a Friday, Easter runs from Saturday 27 to Monday 29 March, St Francis on Monday 4 October closes a weekend that starts on the 2nd, and All Saints on Monday 1 November does the same from 30 October. Labour Day and Christmas Day both fall on a Saturday.
Does Italy have a day off on Good Friday?
No. Good Friday, 3 April in 2026 and 26 March in 2027, is a normal working day, and the Easter break is Sunday and Monday only. The Monday, Lunedì dell'Angelo or Pasquetta, is a civil holiday rather than a religious one, added so that Easter would last two days, the same reasoning that put St Stephen's Day after Christmas.
Why is 4 November not a day off in Italy?
It was, from 1919 until 1977. The date marks the armistice of Villa Giusti taking effect in 1918, the end of the war with Austria-Hungary. Law No. 54 of 1977 removed the day off during the austerity that followed the 1973 oil crisis, and the celebration moved to the first Sunday of November. 4 November is now a civil solemnity with flags on public buildings.
Why does Rome have a holiday on 29 June?
It is the city's own patron saint's day, kept in Rome only. Saints Peter and Paul are the city's patron saints, and their feast was a national holiday until 1977; when the law abolished it elsewhere, Rome kept it as its patron saint's day. It falls on Monday 29 June in 2026, making a long weekend in the capital, and on a Tuesday in 2027.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.