Public holidays inItaly are established by theItalian parliament and, with the exception of city or communitypatronal days, apply nationwide.^[2] These include a mix of national, religious and local observances. As forWhit Monday, there is an exception forSouth Tyrol. In Italy, there are also State commemoration days, which are not public holidays.

Italy's National Day, theFesta della Repubblica (Republic Day),^[1] is celebrated on 2 June each year, with the main celebration taking place inRome, and commemorates thebirth of the Italian Republic in 1946.^[3] The ceremony of the event organized in Rome includes the deposition of alaurel wreath as a tribute to theItalian Unknown Soldier at theAltare della Patria by thePresident of the Italian Republic and amilitary parade alongVia dei Fori Imperiali in Rome.

Liberation Day is a national holiday in Italy that takes place on 25 April commemorating the victory of theItalian resistance movement againstNazi Germany and theItalian Social Republic,puppet state of the Nazis andrump state of the fascists, in theItalian Civil War, acivil war in Italy fought duringWorld War II. The date was chosen by convention, as it was the day of the year in 1945 when theNational Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI) officially proclaimed the insurgency in a radio announcement, propounding the seizure of power by the CLNAI and proclaiming the death sentence for all fascist leaders (includingBenito Mussolini, who was shot three days later).^[4]

17 March was proclaimed a national holiday in 1911, the 50thAnniversary of the Unification of Italy, in 1961, the 100th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, and in 2011, the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. The law no. 222 of 23 November 2012^[5] theGiornata dell'Unità nazionale, della Costituzione, dell'inno e della bandiera ("Day of National Unity, the Constitution, the anthem and the flag") was established to be celebrated on 17 March of each year, on the day of theproclamation of the Unification of Italy in 1861, however it is not to be considered a festive day.

Until 1977 the following were also considered public holidays in Italy for civil purposes:^[6]

• 19 March,Saint Joseph Day;
• 40 days afterEaster,Ascension of Jesus;
• 60 days after Easter,Corpus Christi;
• 29 June,Saints Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome (it remained a public holiday only in the municipality of Rome);
• 4 November,National Unity and Armed Forces Day.

These public holidays were suppressed, during theausterity caused by the1973 oil crisis, on the basis of the law n. 54 of 5 March 1977.^[6] In particular, in 1977National Unity and Armed Forces Day became amoveable feast, and celebrations occurred every first Sunday of November.^[7] National Unity and Armed Forces Day is an Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory inWorld War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated every 4 November, which is the anniversary of thearmistice of Villa Giusti becoming effective in 1918 declaringAustria-Hungary's surrender.^[7] Italy entered World War I in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity and for this reason, the Italian intervention in World War I is also considered theFourth Italian War of Independence,^[8] in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the unification of Italy, whose military actions began during therevolutions of 1848 with theFirst Italian War of Independence.^[9][10]

Francis of Assisi (left) andCatherine of Siena (right), Italian nationalpatron saints. TheFeast of Saints Francis and Catherine is dedicated to them.

In addition to the 12 national holidays, each city or town celebrates a public holiday on the occasion of thefestival of the local patron saint. For example,Rome on 29 June (Saints Peter and Paul),Milan on 7 December (Saint Ambrose),Naples on 19 September (Saint Januarius), andFlorence on 24 June (Saint John the Baptist);Venice celebrates on 21 November (Saint Mary of Health) because the patron day on 25 April (Saint Mark the Evangelist) is also theLiberation Day.^[2] InSouth Tyrol, the holiday is instead onWhit Monday. This makes the total public holidays in Italy 13.

Natale di Roma, historically known asDies Romana and also referred to as Romaia, is the festival linked to thefoundation of Rome, celebrated on 21 April.^[11] According tolegend,Romulus is said to have founded the city ofRome on 21 April,753 BC. From this date, the Roman chronology derived its system, known by theLatin phraseAb Urbe condita, meaning"from the founding of the City", which counted the years from this presumed foundation.

The Italian nationalpatronal day, on 4 October, celebratesSaints Francis and Catherine. Notable patronal festivals in Italy are theFestival of Saint Agatha inCatania, theFeast of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome, theFeast of San Gennaro in Naples andLittle Italy, New York^[12] and theFeast of Our Lady of the Hens inPagani.

This number does not correspond to the number of days off work as public holidays falling on weekends are not transferred. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, it is common practice to make aponte (pl.ponti. English: "bridge") in order to have a long weekend. Schools are usually closed.

Christmas in Italy (inItalian:Natale) begins on 8 December, with the feast of theImmaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally theChristmas tree is mounted and ends on 6 January, of the following year with theEpiphany (in Italian:Epifania).^[13] The term "Natale" derives from theLatinnatalis, which literally means "birth".^[14]Easter in Italy (Italian:Pasqua) is one of that country's major holidays.^[15]Easter in Italy entersHoly Week withPalm Sunday,Maundy Thursday,Good Friday andHoly Saturday, concluding withEaster Day andEaster Monday. Each day has a special significance.

During the Italian public holidays, peaks oftourist flows in Italy are recorded, particularly in winter due to theChristmas andNew Year's Day holidays,^[16] in spring, due to theEaster holidays,^[17] and in summer, due to the favourable climate.^[18] For internal tourism, peaks of tourist flows are also recorded on the occasion of the three national civil holidays,Liberation Day (25 April),International Workers' Day (1 May) and theFesta della Repubblica (2 June),^[19][20] as well as for three religious holidays, theFerragosto (15 August),^[21]All Saints' Day (1 November)^[22] and theFeast of the Immaculate Conception (8 December), especially in the presence ofponti.^[23]

In 2025, Italy moves to reinstate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi as a public holiday.^[24]

Current holidays in Italy are:^[26]

The following days are not public holidays, but are nevertheless official State commemorations.^[1][26]

• Culture of Italy
• Christmas in Italy
• Ferragosto
• Traditions of Italy

• Public holidays in Italy
• Lists of public holidays by country
• Lists of organised events in Italy

• CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2022
• Articles containing Italian-language text