Italy Holidays List 2026 Public Holidays List 2026

What Each Italian Public Holiday Means

1. New Year's Day (1 Jan, Thursday) Capodanno, marking the start of the new year.

2. Epiphany (6 Jan, Tuesday) La Befana, which closes the Christmas season with the tradition of gifts for children.

3. Easter Sunday (5 Apr, Sunday) Pasqua, the central feast of the Christian calendar. It always falls on a Sunday.

4. Easter Monday (6 Apr, Monday) Lunedi dell'Angelo, also called Pasquetta, traditionally spent on outings and meals with family and friends.

5. Liberation Day (25 Apr, Saturday) Festa della Liberazione, marking the end of Nazi occupation and Fascist rule in 1945.

6. Labour Day (1 May, Friday) Festa dei Lavoratori, Italy's International Workers' Day.

7. Republic Day (2 Jun, Tuesday) Festa della Repubblica, marking the 1946 referendum that made Italy a republic.

8. Assumption of Mary (15 Aug, Saturday) Known as Ferragosto, the high point of the Italian summer holiday season.

9. Feast of St Francis of Assisi (4 Oct, Sunday) Honours the patron saint of Italy. It returns as a national holiday in 2026 for the first time since 1977, timed to the 800th anniversary of the saint's death. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday.

10. All Saints' Day (1 Nov, Sunday) Ognissanti, honouring all the saints of the Church.

11. Immaculate Conception (8 Dec, Tuesday) Immacolata Concezione, which traditionally opens the Christmas season.

12. Christmas Day (25 Dec, Friday) Natale, the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus.

13. St Stephen's Day (26 Dec, Saturday) Santo Stefano, the public holiday on the day after Christmas.

Note: The year 2026 is a thin year for long weekends because Liberation Day (April 25), the Assumption (August 15), and St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) all fall on a Saturday. Additionally, the officially restored national holiday for St. Francis of Assisi (October 4) and All Saints' Day (November 1) fall on a Sunday. The Feast of St. Francis returns as a national holiday for the first time since 1977 to mark the saint's 800th anniversary. However, because it lands on a Sunday in 2026, workers will not feel the benefit until 2027. Beyond national dates, individual cities observe local patron-saint holidays - like St. Mark in Venice (April 25), St. John in Florence, Genoa, and Turin (June 24), St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome (June 29), St. Januarius in Naples (September 19), and St. Ambrose in Milan (December 7) - which apply only within city limits. Good Friday is not a national holiday in Italy and is only observed locally in South Tyrol.

How Italian Holidays Impact Payroll and Leave Management?

When a public holiday falls on a weekend. In 2026, Liberation Day (April 25), the Assumption (August 15), and St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) all fall on a Saturday, while St. Francis (October 4) and All Saints' Day (November 1) fall on a Sunday. This means Monday-to-Friday staff lose these days off entirely. St. Francis of Assisi returns as a national holiday on 4 October 2026 for its 800th anniversary, but because it falls on a Sunday, workers will not truly benefit from it. Local patron-saint days like Milan's St. Ambrose further complicate things. Because anyone working a holiday is owed a premium under Italian National Collective Agreements (CCNL), most teams use automated payroll systems to avoid manual errors.