New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day (capodanno) is a national public holiday in Italy, which means that many around the country will start 2026 with a Thursday off work (and may well take the Friday off to enjoy a four-day weekend).
READ ALSO: Calendar: Find out which days you'll get off work in Italy in 2026
There won’t be much in the way of celebrations on the day; most Italians prefer to do all of their partying on New Year’s Eve (la notte di San Silvestro) and get some rest the following day.
For those enjoying long holidays, New Year’s Day is the perfect time to travel to the mountains for a settimana bianca.
2026 budget law
The measures contained in Italy's 2026 budget, which was approved by parliament on December 30th, will take effect from January 1st.
These include a flagship tax cut for middle earners, extensions to home renovation grants, and a new €2 charge on small packages from outside the EU, among other things.
An overview of the main changes Italian residents can expect in 2026 can be found here.
READ ALSO: Seven measures in the 2026 budget that affect foreigners in Italy
Milan tourist tax hike
Milan authorities are to set to raise the city's tourist tax from the start of 2026 – though only for one year, to coincide with the Winter Olympics.
The charge will increase for all types of accommodation, from hotels and hostels to holiday rentals and B&Bs.
Four- and five-star hotels will charge €10 per person per night, up from the current €7, while airbnbs and other holiday rentals will cost almost as much, at €9.50. Three-star hotels rise to €7.40, two-star to €5, and one-star to €4.
READ ALSO: How Italy's tourist fees are rising in 2026
The increases apply to accommodation within 30 kilometres of Olympic Games venues, affecting parts of Lombardy and Veneto.
Motorway tolls and diesel go up
Toll fees on Italian motorways are set to rise by an average of 1.5 percent from January 1st, while excise duties on diesel will also increase by 4.05 euro cents per litre from the start of the year.
The decision to hike the tolls in line with inflation was taken by Italy's transport regulation authority, after the Supreme Court ruled that government rate-freezing measures imposed in 2020 and 2021 violated freedom of enterprise.
Not all motorway stretches will be affected: the A24 and A25 connecting Rome to Abruzzo's Adriatic coast, the A10 and A12 managed by Concessioni del Tirreno, the A5 and A21 connecting Ivrea, Turin and Piacenza, and roads managed by the Autostrade Alto Adriatico will not see any increases.
Winter sales start
Bargain hunters, mark your calendars: Italy's winter sales, or saldi invernali, will start in most of the country on Saturday, January 3rd and run for several weeks.
Italian law dictates that shops are allowed just two big saldi, or sales, a year – one in the summer, one in the winter – with dates varying by region.
Valle d'Aosta's sale season is set to begin one day earlier than most, on January 2nd, while towns in the autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento can set their own dates, with the city of Bolzano's starting on January 8th.
READ ALSO: When do Italy's January sales start in 2026?
Epiphany
Epiphany, which marks the date in the Catholic calendar when the Three Wise Men reached Mary, Joseph and Jesus, is a public holiday in Italy.
It falls on a Tuesday in 2026, meaning many around Italy will likely fare il ponte and take the Monday off to enjoy another four-day weekend.
January 6th is also when Italians celebrate La Befana, a good witch who, according to popular folklore, visits the houses of all children the night before the holiday to fill their stockings with sweets or coal.
La Befana is a beloved character in Italy, but celebrations are generally bittersweet as January 6th marks the end of the holiday season.
Back to school
Epiphany also marks the end of Italy’s winter school break, with most children filing back into their classrooms on Wednesday, January 7th.
Only Sicily's schools are set to reopen a day later, on Thursday, January 8th.
It’ll be a long time before pupils in Italy enjoy another break, with the Easter holidays starting on April 2nd for most regions.
Transport strikes resume
Italy's Christmas transport strike 'exemption period' officially ends on January 7th, meaning the return of walkouts by transport workers after this date.
January is set to be a busy month for strike action, with protests planned across the air, rail, taxi and public transport sectors.
Find our January strike calendar here.
New flight routes from Sicily
Irish budget airline Ryanair will open a new base at Trapani’s Birgi airport, western Sicily, in January.
This is set to be followed by the staggered launch of new direct services to the following 11 destinations: Bournemouth, London, Brussels, Stockholm, Saarbrücken, Baden-Baden, Bratislava, Katowice, Bari, Pescara, and Verona.
READ ALSO: LISTED: The new flights to and from Italy in 2026
Deadline to opt out of licence fee
Italy’s TV licence fee (often referred to as canone) is based on an automatic billing system, with the charge being automatically added to a household’s electricity bill, usually in the form of a monthly charge from January to October.
Homeowners who don’t have a TV set must complete and submit the payment exemption form with Italy’s tax office by January 31st of each year.
Venice Carnival starts
Venice's Carnevale is set to start on Saturday, January 31st in 2026 and run until Tuesday, February 17th.
This year's theme is 'Olympus – the origins of the game' in honour of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The event will kick off with the selection of the "Twelve Marys" ahead of the Festa delle Marie, a beauty pageant in which 12 young local women are dressed up in Renaissance costumes and parade throughout the city.
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