The Christmas calendar 2026-2027
From 6 December to 6 January the Italian holidays follow fixed dates, closures and reduced timetables: here is what happens, what is open and how to get around.
The 2026 calendar is kind to anyone who works and anyone who travels: the Immaculate Conception falls on a Tuesday, Christmas on a Friday, Santo Stefano on a Saturday, New Year's Day on a Friday and the Epiphany on a Wednesday. Only Santo Stefano falls on a Saturday: the other four holidays fall on weekdays, and 25 December opens a long three-day weekend, as does 1 January. This page puts the dates in order, explains what really closes and collects the timetables you need to get around. For details on events, see the other pages of the special: Christmas markets, New Year's Eve, Epiphany.
Fixed dates and traditions
There are five national public holidays in this period (Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Santo Stefano, New Year's Day, Epiphany). The others are local celebrations or customs: they do not close offices and schools, but they change the rhythm of whole cities.
| Date | Holiday | Status and tradition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 6 December | St Nicholas | Not a public holiday. In Bari he is the patron saint (the big feast is in May); in South Tyrol and Trentino, St Nicholas and the Krampus arrive | |
| Mon 7 December | Sant'Ambrogio | Feast of the patron saint of [[t_milano | Milan]]: city offices closed, opening night at La Scala |
| Tue 8 December | Immaculate Conception | National public holiday. In Rome, tribute to the Virgin Mary in Piazza di Spagna | |
| Sun 13 December | Santa Lucia | Not a public holiday. In [[t_siracusa | Syracuse]] she is the patron saint; in many northern cities she brings gifts to children |
| Thu 24 December | Christmas Eve | Not a public holiday, but with reduced hours in the afternoon. Meat-free dinner, Midnight Mass | |
| Fri 25 December | Christmas Day | National public holiday | |
| Sat 26 December | Santo Stefano (St Stephen's Day) | National public holiday | |
| Thu 31 December | San Silvestro (New Year's Eve) | Not a public holiday. Big dinner, concerts in the squares, public transport running late into the night | |
| Fri 1 January | New Year's Day | National public holiday | |
| Wed 6 January | Epiphany | National public holiday, closes the holidays |
The eve of Santa Lucia is worth a stop: on the night between 12 and 13 December, in Veneto, eastern Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige, children leave a letter and some food for the saint and her donkey. In Syracuse, on the morning of the 13th there is a solemn Mass in the Cathedral and in the afternoon (from 15:30 in recent years) the procession with the silver statue from Ortigia to Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. In the city people do not eat bread and pasta: they eat cuccìa, boiled wheat, sweet or savoury.
Long weekends and days of leave
For those who work, 2026 offers two natural long weekends and an efficient combination for holiday leave.
- Immaculate Conception: 8 December is a Tuesday. Taking Monday 7 off gives a block of four days, from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8. Monday 7 is already a holiday in Milan for Sant'Ambrogio.
- Christmas: Thursday 24 is a working day, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 are public holidays. Taking Christmas Eve off gives four days, from Thursday to Sunday.
- From 24 December to 6 January: with seven days of leave (24, 28, 29, 30 and 31 December, 4 and 5 January) you stay off for 14 days in a row. Without the 24th it is six days of leave for 13 days of break.
Schools
School calendars are set by each region. According to the 2026-27 regional calendars, the Christmas break is as follows; classes resume on Thursday 7 January 2027 almost everywhere, on Friday 8 in Sicily.
| Regions | Christmas holidays | Immaculate Conception long weekend (Mon 7 Dec) |
|---|---|---|
| Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Apulia, Sardinia, Umbria, province of Trento | 23 December - 6 January | Closed in Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Molise, Piedmont, Apulia, Umbria, Trento. Open in Basilicata, Lazio, Lombardy, Marche, Sardinia (in Milan schools close anyway for Sant'Ambrogio) |
| Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Aosta Valley, Veneto, province of Bolzano | 24 December - 6 January | Closed in Tuscany, Aosta Valley, Veneto; Bolzano closes from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8. Open in Emilia-Romagna |
| Sicily | 23 December - 7 January | Closed |
Individual schools have a margin of a few days for local suspensions: if you are travelling with children, check the school's calendar.
Day by day, from 6 December to 6 January
| Date | What happens | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 6 Dec | St Nicholas. First Sunday of the month: free entry to state museums, Colosseum included (with online booking; the Domus Aurea stays closed). Espresso Natale Rome-Arezzo. Oh Bej! Oh Bej! in Milan | |
| Mon 7 Dec | Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. At La Scala the opening night with Verdi's Otello at 18:00, conductor Myung-Whun Chung, directed by Damiano Michieletto. Schools closed in many regions | |
| Tue 8 Dec | Immaculate Conception, public holiday. Vatican Museums closed. Last day of Oh Bej! Oh Bej!, 8:30-21:00 around the Castello Sforzesco | |
| Wed 9 Dec | Working day, shops open as usual. Piazza Duomo market in Milan open 9:00-21:00 | |
| Thu 10 Dec | First repeat performance of Otello at La Scala, at 20:00 (the run lasts until 5 January) | |
| Fri 11 Dec | Working day. First long weekends at the markets in the north: see [[sp_natale_mercatini | Christmas markets]] |
| Sat 12 Dec | During the night Santa Lucia arrives in the northern cities. Artigianato in Fiera at Rho (5-13 December, 10:00-22:30) | |
| Sun 13 Dec | Santa Lucia: procession in Syracuse. Espresso Natale Rome-Arezzo | |
| Mon 14 Dec | Working day, schools open | |
| Tue 15 Dec | Working day | |
| Wed 16 Dec | Working day | |
| Thu 17 Dec | Working day. From 17 December to 7 January air transport strikes are banned | |
| Fri 18 Dec | Working day. First departures for the long weekend, fuller trains | |
| Sat 19 Dec | Peak weekend for markets and shopping | |
| Sun 20 Dec | Espresso Natale Rome-Arezzo. Last weekend before the holidays | |
| Mon 21 Dec | Working day. The shortest day of the year | |
| Tue 22 Dec | Last day to buy the Trenitalia Freccia 2x1 offer valid on 25 December | |
| Wed 23 Dec | School holidays begin in most regions. Trains and motorways very busy | |
| Thu 24 Dec | Christmas Eve. Schools closed everywhere. Shops open until evening, public transport on reduced timetable, Midnight Mass | |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day. Shops closed almost everywhere. Colosseum closed, Vatican Museums closed, Uffizi closed. Regional trains reduced | |
| Sat 26 Dec | Santo Stefano, public holiday. Vatican Museums closed; Colosseum and Uffizi open at normal hours. For the other state museums the list of 2026 openings is not yet published (in 2025 they were open). Shops open in the big cities with public holiday hours | |
| Sun 27 Dec | Last Sunday of the month: the Vatican Museums open free of charge 9:00-14:00 (last entry 12:30) | |
| Mon 28 Dec | Working day for many, a day of leave for others. Markets still open | |
| Tue 29 Dec | As above | |
| Wed 30 Dec | As above. Departures for New Year in the mountains | |
| Thu 31 Dec | San Silvestro (New Year's Eve). Public transport running late into the night in the big cities, concerts in the squares: see [[sp_natale_capodanno | New Year's Eve]] |
| Fri 1 Jan | New Year's Day. Colosseum closed, Vatican Museums closed, Uffizi closed. Public transport on public holiday timetable (in Rome in 2025 the network restarted at 8:00) | |
| Sat 2 Jan | Saturday of returns and of departures for the snow | |
| Sun 3 Jan | First Sunday of the month: state museums free, Colosseum included (with booking) | |
| Mon 4 Jan | Return day, very full trains. Schools still closed | |
| Tue 5 Jan | Eve of the Epiphany. Last day of the Otello run at La Scala | |
| Wed 6 Jan | Epiphany, public holiday. Vatican Museums closed. Befana in the squares: see [[sp_natale_epifania | Epiphany]] |
What is open and what is closed
Museums and sites. The big sites publish their closures on their own websites. The Colosseum and the Uffizi list only 25 December and 1 January as Christmas closures, so they are open on 26 December and 6 January. For the other state museums the list of extraordinary openings for 2026-27 is not yet published: in 2025-26 they were closed on 25 December and open on 26 December, 1 and 6 January.
| Site | Closures and hours |
|---|---|
| Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine | Closed on 25 December 2026 and 1 January 2027. Winter hours from 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027: Colosseum from 8:30, Roman Forum and Palatine from 9:00, park closes at 16:30, last entry 15:30. Online booking compulsory, tickets on sale 30 days ahead. Free on the first Sunday of the month |
| Vatican Museums | Closed on 8 December, 25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January. Open Monday-Saturday 8:00-20:00, last entry 18:00 |
| Uffizi Galleries | Closed on Mondays, on 25 December and on 1 January. Open Tuesday-Sunday 8:15-18:30, last entry 17:30 |
| Last Supper (Cenacolo Vinciano, Milan) | Open Tuesday-Sunday 8:15-19:00, last entry 18:45, booking compulsory. Closed on Mondays. Tickets for September-December 2026 on sale from 23 June; the January 2027 sale is not yet announced |
Shops. On 25 December, 1 and 6 January almost all shops, neighbourhood supermarkets and many restaurants stay closed; open are duty pharmacies, a few cafés, hotel restaurants and venues that have announced a Christmas lunch. On Santo Stefano the big cities run on public holiday hours. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve shops close early.
Long-distance transport. On 25 December 2026 the Frecciarossa and Frecciargento trains run: for that day Trenitalia sells the Freccia 2x1 offer (two adults, 50% off each, purchase until 22 December, no changes or refunds). Regional lines run on reduced timetables, especially on Christmas Day, and in small towns buses may stop. Air transport strikes are banned during the holiday period.
Urban transport. Atac (atac.roma.it) and ATM (atm.it) post the timetables for 25 December and 1 January on their home pages: check them the day before you travel. As a reference, at Christmas 2025 in Rome buses, trams and metro ran from 8:30 to 13:00 and from 16:30 to 21:00 on 25 December; on the 31st the metro stayed in service until 2:30. In Milan the metro ran from 7:00 to 19:30 on 25 December, with no night buses on the nights of the 24th and 25th.
- Castello Sforzesco, Oh Bej! Oh Bej!: 5-8 December, 8:30-21:00
- Teatro alla Scala: Opening night on 7 December at 18:00 with Otello
- Cenacolo Vinciano: Tuesday-Sunday 8:15-19:00, booking compulsory
- Piazza di Spagna: 8 December, tribute to the Immaculate Conception
- Colosseum: Closed on 25 December and 1 January; last entry 15:30
- Vatican Museums: Closed 8, 25, 26 December, 1 and 6 January
- Uffizi Galleries: Closed on Mondays, on 25 December and on 1 January
- Piazza Grande, Arezzo: Christmas Village until 6 January 2027
- Piazza Duomo, Syracuse: 13 December, Santa Lucia procession
Good to know
- Book the trains of 23, 24 and 26 December first: they are the days of departure and return. The 25 December Freccia 2x1 allows no changes or refunds.
- Check the opening hours of state museums after 1 December: the list of extraordinary Christmas and New Year openings is not yet published. The Colosseum and the Uffizi close only on 25 December and 1 January.
- Book your 25 December lunch weeks ahead: many restaurants stay closed and those that open offer a set menu.
- The opening night at La Scala is on 7 December at 18:00: the repeat performances (10 December-5 January, 20:00) are on sale from 14 October on the official website teatroallascala.org, not from resellers.
- If you are travelling with children, check the school: the 7 December long weekend applies only in some regions and every school can add suspensions.
- Avoid returning on 3 and 4 January, if you can: these are the days when return trains are most in demand; the 5th and 6th are quieter.