Italy Public Holidays 2027: New Oct 4 Holiday & Ponti Guide

Italy public holidays 2027 include a national holiday most people haven't heard of yet: October 4, St. Francis of Assisi Day. It was restored in 2026, but that year it fell on a Sunday. In 2027 it lands on a Monday, creating a new long weekend.

Below you'll find every national holiday for 2027, the Easter dates, city patron saint days, and the best opportunities for a ponte.

Italy public holidays 2027: the full list

These are the national holidays observed across the whole country. City patron saint days are listed further down.

Two things stand out in 2027. Easter comes early, on March 28, so Easter Monday (Pasquetta) falls on March 29. And five holidays land on weekends: Liberation Day, Labour Day, Ferragosto, Christmas and St. Stephen's Day.

Because Italy doesn't move weekend holidays to weekdays, 2027 has fewer weekday holidays than an average year. That makes the ones that do fall on weekdays more valuable.

What's new: October 4 is back

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of Italy. October 4 was a national holiday until 1977, when it was removed along with several other days to boost working hours.

In autumn 2025, Parliament approved a law restoring it, with effect from 2026. It's now a full national holiday, with the same treatment as other public holidays for workers.

In 2026 the change went almost unnoticed because October 4 was a Sunday. Monday, October 4, 2027 is the first time it gives most workers an extra day off.

Ponti: how to turn holidays into long weekends

A ponte is the Italian art of bridging a holiday to the weekend with one or two days of leave. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many offices and schools quietly empty out on the Monday or Friday.

The table below shows every natural long weekend in 2027, plus the bridges worth taking.

The best value in 2027 is at the start of the year. New Year's Day falls on a Friday and Epiphany on Wednesday, January 6. Two leave days on January 4–5 give you six days off in a row.

The new October 4 holiday creates a natural three-day weekend from Saturday, October 2. All Saints' Day on Monday, November 1 does the same four weeks later.

Easter in 2027

Easter Sunday is a moving holiday that follows the church calendar. In 2027 it falls on March 28, the earliest Easter since 2016.

Easter Monday, known as Pasquetta, is the real day off for most people. Italians traditionally spend it outdoors with a picnic or a day trip, so roads and trains are busy.

An early Easter means cooler weather and shorter queues at major sights than a late-April Easter. Still, expect Rome and Florence to be crowded over the whole long weekend.

Local patron saint days

Each Italian city also celebrates its own patron saint. On that day, local offices and many shops close, even though it isn't a national holiday.

Some of the best-known dates: Rome celebrates Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, Milan celebrates Saint Ambrose on December 7, and Florence, Genoa and Turin celebrate Saint John the Baptist on June 24.

In Venice, the feast of Saint Mark on April 25 coincides with Liberation Day. In Naples, the feast of Saint Januarius on September 19 is a major local event.

If you're traveling for business, check the patron saint day of the city you're visiting. A meeting scheduled on that date may simply not happen.

Ferragosto and the August slowdown

Ferragosto on August 15 is more than a single holiday. Many Italian businesses close for one or two weeks around it, and cities like Milan and Turin get noticeably quieter.

The opposite happens on the coast and in the mountains. Beach towns, ferries to the islands and Alpine resorts are at their busiest, and prices peak.

In 2027 Ferragosto falls on a Sunday, so it doesn't add a weekday off. The summer shutdown still happens, though, because it's a tradition rather than a rule tied to the date.

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve

December 24 and December 31 are not public holidays in Italy. Offices and shops are officially open, though many close early in the afternoon.

In 2027 Christmas falls on a Saturday and St. Stephen's Day on a Sunday. With no substitute days, the Christmas weekend gives no weekday off at all, which is unusual.

If you plan a December trip, expect normal opening hours on the 24th and 31st until early afternoon, and full closures on the 25th.

Italy public holidays remaining in 2026

Four national holidays remain in 2026: All Saints' Day falls on a Sunday, Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, December 8, Christmas on Friday and St. Stephen's Day on Saturday.

The Immaculate Conception falls on a Tuesday, so a ponte on Monday, December 7 gives a four-day weekend. In Milan, December 7 is already the local Saint Ambrose holiday.

Sources and how we keep this page accurate

The restoration of the October 4 holiday was reported by AGI when the law received final approval. The national holiday list follows Italian law, and Easter dates follow the church calendar.

Every date in the tables comes from a single data file, and weekdays and long weekends are calculated automatically. We cross-check the data against an independent open-source holiday library.