Useful facts for travel to Italy

One important factor may be the festival calendar. Like Spain, Italy has a lot of festivals and saint's days etc. and you may wish to co-ordinate your Italy travel accordingly.

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Public Holidays in Italy 2008

• Jan 1 New Year’s Day.
• Jan 6 Epiphany.
• Mar 24 Easter Monday.
• Apr 25 Liberation Day.
• May 1 Labour Day.
• Jun 2 Anniversary of the Republic.
• Aug 15 Assumption.
• Nov 1 All Saints’ Day.
• Dec 8 Immaculate Conception.
• Dec 25 Christmas Day.
• Dec 26 St Stephen’s Day.

Note: In addition, local feast days are held in honour of town patron saints, generally without closure of shops and offices. These include:

• Venice: Apr 25 (St Mark).
• Turin/Genoa/Florence: Jun 24 (St John the Baptist).
• Rome: Jun 29 (St Peter).
• Siena: Jul 2 and Aug 16, Palio horserace.
• Palermo: Jul 15 (St Rosalia).
• Naples: Sep 19 (St Gennaro).
• Bologna: Oct 4 (St Petronius).
• Trieste: Nov 3.
• Bari: Dec 6 (St Nicholas).
• Milan: Dec 7 (St Ambrose).

Festivals and Events worth noting

• February/March: Shrovetide carnivals, celebrations before Lent, the Venice one is particulary famous.
• March/April: Holy week and Easter celebrations throughout Italy, good but crowded in Rome where the Pope is at the head of the procession on Good Friday.
• April/May: Jazz festival in Milan.
• May: Palio Balestra (medieval crossbow contest on horseback) using antique weapons held in Gubbio.
• June: Historical regatta of the four Ancient Maritime Republics involving boat race between rival sea towns of Pisa, Venice, Amalfi and Genoa. Spoleto's world famous arts festival is held in June.
• July: The Umbria Jazz festival is held every July in Perugia and is one of the most popular festivals in Italy.
• July/August: The medieval Palio festival where ancient clothed riders race bareback around the town's square in Sienna (held both months).
• September: The Joust of the Saracen, performed by "combatants" dressed in ancient suits of armor held in Arezzo. Italian Grand Prix held in Monza.
• October: Truffle hunts, market and fair held in Alba. Feast of St. Francis held in Assisi.
• November: Feast of San Martino (Nov. 11th), Sigillo festival: a wine and chestnut event held in San Martino.
• December: La Scala opera season opens in Milan.

USEFUL FACTS

Visas: Italy, along with Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, forms part of the border-free travel zone subject to the Schengen Agreement. EU passport holders can come and go as they please. Citizens of the USA, Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand are among those who may enter Italy as tourists without a visa and stay up to 90 days.

Health risks: Rabies (only found in the Alps), Leishmaniasis (transmitted by sandflies in coastal regions) and Lyme Disease (Trentino, northern Italy)

Time: GMT/UTC +1 (+2 in summer)
Current Italian time

Electricity: 220V (some 125V still found) 50 Hz

Weights & measures: metric

More useful facts for travel to Italy: Italian Weights and Measures and their equivalents

Clothing and shoe sizes conversion: US, UK, Europe

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Other Italy pages:

Travel to Italy for a Europe Tour that's more than a Roman holiday!

Tour Routes in Italy

When to travel to Italy for your tour: weather and seasons

Food in Italy: a brief gastronomic tour

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Italy online

Book your hotel in Italy online

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