Easter (Pasqua) is more important than Christmas in Italian Catholic tradition. 2026: Easter Sunday = April 5. The week before (Settimana Santa / Holy Week) brings processions, rituals, and traditions that range from solemn (hooded penitents in Calabria) to spectacular (Scoppio del Carro — an actual EXPLOSION in front of the Florence Duomo) to delicious (pastiera, colomba, uova di cioccolato). Easter Monday (Pasquetta) is a national holiday — Italians picnic outdoors. Full festival calendar →
Holy Week (March 30 - April 5, 2026): Good Friday (April 3): Processions in every Italian town. Most dramatic: Trapani Processione dei Misteri (24 hours non-stop, 20 wooden sculptural groups carried through the streets). Calabria/Puglia hooded penitent processions. Rome: Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) at the Colosseum, led by the Pope, 9pm, free (arrive 7pm for a spot). Holy Saturday (April 4): Scoppio del Carro, Florence — a cart loaded with fireworks is EXPLODED in Piazza Duomo by a mechanical dove that slides down a wire from the altar inside the cathedral. If the dove makes it back: good harvest. If it doesn't: bad luck for Florence. 10:30am, free, arrive 9am.
Easter Sunday (April 5): Papal Mass, St. Peter's Square (10:15am — free, arrive 7am for a spot). Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony. Easter lunch — THE family meal (abbacchio = roast lamb in Lazio, pastiera in Campania, colomba everywhere). Easter Monday — Pasquetta (April 6): National holiday. Italians picnic outdoors — parks, countryside, beaches (weather permitting). The tradition: scampagnata (day trip to the countryside). Restaurants near parks/beaches: packed. City restaurants: some closed.
Good Friday: Shops vary (some close afternoon). Museums usually open. Restaurants open. Easter Sunday: Most shops closed. Major museums OPEN (Colosseum, Vatican, Uffizi — check hours). Restaurants: open but BOOK AHEAD (Easter lunch is fully reserved). Easter Monday: Similar to Sunday — shops closed, museums mostly open, restaurants open but book. Trains run normally all Easter weekend.