While Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day (known as Boxing Day in the English-speaking world) are official public holidays in Italy, Christmas Eve isn't.
That said, many employers give workers the day off as a gesture of goodwill.
Since this year’s holidays fall mid-week, you can expect many in Italy to take Friday, December 27th, off work to ‘build’ an extra-long weekend, or ponte.
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Schoolchildren will take longer holidays as schools around the country are set to break up for Christmas on Friday, December 20th, or Saturday, December 21st, depending on whether they apply a five- or six-day school week.
Children will file back into their classrooms on Tuesday, January 7th, following Epiphany.
Generally speaking, much of Italy tends to grind to a halt on and around public holidays, and the vacanze di Natale are no exception, as many services are significantly limited or outright unavailable over Christmas.
Here’s an overview of what you can expect next week.
Local public transport
Most local public transport operators in the country will operate on a reduced timetable (also known as orari festivi) over the holidays.
But the quality and frequency of services during the Christmas break will vary significantly between rural and urban areas, as well as between cities.
Areas that are usually served by the occasional bus may see stripped-to-the-bone services over the holidays.
On the contrary, parts of the country which already have robust public transport networks tend to keep them fairly active over the holidays, including on key dates such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
In most major cities, daytime services will run on a relatively standard timetable, whereas a number of ‘minimum services’ (servizi minimi) will run in the late hours of the evening and at night.
Trains
Regional and local trains around the country will run on reduced timetables over the holidays, which is why passengers are strongly advised to check operators’ Christmas schedules well in advance.
These can usually be found on operators’ websites or social media channels.
READ ALSO: What you need to know about travelling in Italy this Christmas
As for interregional and long-distance trains, they generally run on standard timetables during the holidays, and even on Christmas Day you'll find dozens of high-speed services connecting major Italian cities around the country.
However, be warned that tickets may be far more expensive than usual, especially for longer trips.
Air travel
While strikes involving airport or airline staff are far from rare in Italy, no such walkouts will take place over the Christmas holidays as Italian law bans any protest impacting air travel from December 18th to January 7th.
This however does not mean that there won’t be any risk of disruption for passengers flying to or from Italy over the holidays.
Christmas is the busiest time of year for air travel, with tens of thousands of passengers set to crowd airport terminals up and down the country.
This means that passengers may still face flight delays, as well as queues at check-in desks and baggage collection areas.
Public and private offices
Offices in the public and private sector, including banks, post offices, town hall desks and CAF fiscal assistance centres, will be closed on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
But some offices may also have limited opening hours on Christmas Eve and on Friday, December 27th.
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Should you need to complete any urgent admin tasks next week, your best bet would be to try and do so by Monday evening, or Tuesday morning at the very latest.
Cultural sites and attractions
Many state-run museums and archaeological sites will be open on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, though some may have reduced opening hours (for instance, they may be open in the morning, but close by lunchtime).
A full list of state-run sites opening over the holidays is expected to be published by Italy’s culture ministry in the coming days. We will update this article as soon as the list becomes available.
Privately-run museums, galleries or collections may be closed on both public holidays.
Churches will be open over the holidays but tourist access may be restricted or denied when services are ongoing.
Many theatres, opera houses and auditoriums around the country will be open over the coming days and weeks.
For instance, Rome's Parco della Musica auditorium will play host to Europe’s biggest gospel festival from Saturday, December 21st, to Wednesday, January 1st.
Shops and supermarkets
The majority of supermercati and mini-markets in the country will remain closed on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
However, some supermarkets in major cities may be open until lunchtime on Christmas Day to give shoppers time to pick up any last-minute item for their big pranzo di Natale.
As for shops, most businesses in non-urban areas will be closed on both Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
Businesses in big cities may open for half a day (either the morning or afternoon only).
Pasticcerie, panifici and restaurants
Some panifici (bakeries) and pasticcerie (pastry shops) in major cities may remain open on Christmas Day morning to allow customers to buy bread and sweets for their big family lunch.
As for restaurants, you can expect many places to remain open over the holidays and offer special Christmas menus to customers.
But if you’re planning on eating out on Christmas Day or St Stephen’s Day, it's advisable to make a reservation in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises later on.
Walk-ins are rarely accepted.
Doctors and pharmacies
GPs' clinics will be closed on both public holidays.
However, should you be in need of an urgent appointment, you can ask to see a doctor from Italy’s Guardia Medica, a medical care centre that operates outside of GPs’ normal working hours and on weekends, or visit your local hospital’s ER (pronto soccorso).
Should you need to buy medicines or pick up a prescription, pharmacies in Italy operate a rota system during national holidays to ensure that at least one is open in each area.
Pharmacies that remain open on a national holiday are referred to as farmacie di turno.
To find the nearest one, Google farmacia di turno plus the name of the municipality (or comune) you find yourself in.
Alternatively, you can also consult the Farmacie di Turno website.
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