Easter in Italy 2027: Holy Week Guide

Easter (Pasqua) 2027 falls on Sunday, 28 March, with Easter Monday (Pasquetta) on 29 March — both are national public holidays. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, 21 March. The period from Palm Sunday through Easter Monday is one of the richest on the Italian cultural calendar, combining major religious ceremonies, spectacular folk traditions, and the first serious influx of spring tourism.

Key dates

Date	Observance
Sunday 21 March	Palm Sunday (Domenica delle Palme)
Thursday 25 March	Holy Thursday (Giovedì Santo)
Friday 26 March	Good Friday (Venerdì Santo)
Saturday 27 March	Holy Saturday (Sabato Santo)
Sunday 28 March	Easter Sunday (Pasqua)
Monday 29 March	Easter Monday (Pasquetta)

Rome: Papal Mass and Via Crucis

The focal point of Catholic Easter is Rome, where Pope Francis (or his successor) celebrates the Papal Mass at St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday morning. The ceremony draws enormous crowds — access to the square is free but controlled; arrive early or watch from the nearby streets and screens. The Urbi et Orbi blessing follows.

On Good Friday evening, the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession winds from the Colosseum to the Palatine Hill, a ceremony that has been held since the 18th century. The Colosseum is illuminated, torchlight guides the procession, and the route is lined with hundreds of thousands of people. Arrive early to secure a viewing position.

Florence: Scoppio del Carro

Florence marks Easter Sunday with the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart) — one of the most extraordinary Easter traditions in Europe. A cart decorated with elaborate fireworks is towed by white oxen through the city to the Piazza del Duomo, where it is ignited by a mechanical dove (colombina) that travels along a wire from the high altar of the Cathedral. The resulting explosion of sparks and fireworks fills the square. The ceremony begins at around 10:30 on Easter Sunday morning.

We cover this in detail in our Scoppio del Carro 2027 guide.

Assisi: Easter Week pilgrimage

Assisi draws large pilgrim numbers during Holy Week, with processions through the medieval town and services at the Basilica of St Francis and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Good Friday sees a candlelit procession through the streets beginning late evening. The setting — the hill town, the Umbrian plain below, the flower-scented air of late March — gives the ceremonies a particular atmosphere.

Naples and southern Italy

Southern Italy has the most ancient and theatrical Holy Week traditions. In the towns of Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, and Campania, Good Friday processions can last all night and involve life-size statues carried through narrow streets. The most famous are in:

• Taranto (Puglia): the Perdoni di Taranto, a slow penitential procession of hooded confraternity members lasting from midnight to dawn on Good Friday
• Trapani (Sicily): the Processione dei Misteri, one of Italy’s oldest Holy Week processions, running for 24 hours
• Sorrento: candlelit Good Friday procession through the old town

Pasquetta

Easter Monday (Pasquetta) is a public holiday dedicated to outdoor outings — picnics in parks, day trips to the countryside, and family gatherings away from home. Italians pour out of cities for Pasquetta; transport is busy, countryside roads fill, and popular spots can be crowded. For visitors, this makes Easter Monday an ideal day to be outdoors rather than visiting museums (which may be open but busy).

Practicalities

Good Friday is not a public holiday in Italy (unlike in Poland or the UK), but most businesses operate at reduced capacity during Holy Week. Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are both holidays: expect closures and reduced hours for shops and some restaurants.

Accommodation across Rome, Florence, and the major cities should be booked well in advance for Easter weekend — this is one of the busiest travel periods of the Italian year.

For the full picture of visiting Italy in March and April, see our Italy in March guide and Italy in April guide. To book Easter week tours across Italy, see our activities page.