Festival Dates festival guides

Milan's calendar runs on two dates: Design Week in April and Sant'Ambrogio on 7 December. Plus the carnival that ends four days after everyone else's.

Naples' festival year: the San Gennaro blood miracle three times over, the May monument openings, summer theatre, and the presepe workshops at Christmas.

Rome's founding anniversary falls on 21 April every year. What the Circus Maximus reenactment involves, what is free, and how to plan around the crowds.

Rome's festival year, month by month: Easter ceremonies, the 21 April birthday, the Estate Romana summer programme, autumn cinema and Christmas markets.

Siena's calendar is the Palio and everything the Palio implies: 17 contrade running year-round, two race days, and a classical festival most visitors miss.

Spring is when Italy's calendar reopens — Easter processions, Rome's birthday, wine fairs and a May packed with local festivals, before summer prices arrive.

Summer is Italy's biggest festival season and its hardest travel conditions. What runs in June, July and August, and why August is a different country.

Venice Carnival always ends on Shrove Tuesday, 47 days before Easter. The rule, a computed table through 2036, and why the start date is never derivable.

Verona's year: the Arena opera season from June, Vinitaly in April, the UNESCO-listed Tocatì street games in September, and Christmas in Piazza dei Signori.

Italy's winter runs in three distinct acts: the Christmas markets, a deep January lull, and Carnival. Here is what each one is actually like.

Plan around Italy public holidays with a guide to national closures, Ponte long weekends, museum schedules, and city patron saint days.

See how Easter in Italy unfolds, from Rome's papal ceremonies and Florence's Scoppio del Carro to Sicily's processions and the Pasquetta shutdown.