Religious Festival festival guides

Florence's lantern procession fills Piazza Santissima Annunziata every 7 September. The route, the timings, and the odd tradition of shooting the lanterns.

Naples waits three times a year for San Gennaro's blood to liquefy. The dates, what happens in the Duomo, and how to attend the 19 September ceremony.

Florence's patron saint day on 24 June brings the Calcio Storico final and fireworks from Piazzale Michelangelo. Timings, viewing spots and what closes.

Milan packs its patron saint feast, a 16th-century street fair and La Scala's season opening into 7 December. What happens, what's free, what closes.

Florence detonates a fireworks cart outside the Duomo every Easter Sunday. The timings, where to stand in Piazza del Duomo, and what the ritual means.

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.

Plan your visit to the Corsa dei Ceri in Gubbio: the fixed 15 May date, three saint teams, the route up Monte Ingino, and where to stand safely.

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.

Plan Venice's Festa del Redentore: fireworks timing, the votive bridge from Zattere to Giudecca, Venezia Unica booking phases, boat options, and what to eat.

Plan a trip to the Luminara di Pisa, the candlelit tradition lighting Pisa's Lungarni every 16 June, with timing, vantage points, and Florence travel logistics.