Public
Holidays
Date 2003
Occasion
January
1
New Year's Day
January 6
Epiphany
February 1
Venice Carnival starts
February 12
Venice Carnival ends
April 20
Easter
April 21
Easter Monday
April 25
Venice(St
Mark)**
April 25
Liberation
Day
May 1
May
Day
June
Sunday
Anniversary of the Republic
June 24
Florence(St John)**
June 24
Turin(St
John)**
June 29
Rome(Sts Peter and Paul)**
July 11
Palermo(St Rosalia)**
August 15
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary
September 19
Naples(St Gennaro)**
October 4
Bologna (St Petronio)**
November 1
All Saints Day
November
World War 1 Victory Anniversary
Day*
December
7
Milan(St Ambrose)**
December 8
Immaculate Conception
December 25
Christmas Day
December 26
Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day
**Feast
Days
Some
Major Events
January
Fair of Sant'Orso in Aosta
February
Feast of the almond-blossom in
Agrigento
February-March
Carnival in Venice, Viareggio and
Ivrea
March-April
"Scoppio del carro" in
Florence
May
Candle race in Gubbio ;Cavalcata
sarda" in Sassari ;Maggio
musicale" in Florence
May-June
'Festival of the Two Worlds"
in Spoleto
June
Flower festival in Genzano
June-September
'Biennale di Venezia"(1997,
1999, 2001...)
July
"Palio" horserace in
Siena; ;Festa del Redentore"
in Venice ;Umbria Jazz"
August
Quintana tournament in Ascoli
Piceno in Siena ana tournament in
Arezzo
August-September
"Settimane musicali" in
Stesa al & Opera seasons in
Milan and Verona
September
Historical regatta in Venice Game
in Marostica in Asti national
Cinema Festival in Venice
October
Grape feast in Merano
November
Feast of the Madonna della Salute
in Venice
December
Franciscan crib in Greccio
Weekend: Saturday,
Sunday
Health
& Safety
There
are no compulsory immunizations to
enter Italy. The water is mostly
safe and there aren’t any
apparent health hazards. The
medical facilities in the cities
are good but the hospitals in
rural areas are not really
equipped to deal with big crises.
You’ll
find that the crime rate isn’t
very high (unless you happen to be
on someone’s hit list!). Stories
of Mafiosi have of course, passed
into legend but travellers
generally aren’t in any danger
at all except from the occasional
petty theft. Beware of thieves and
pickpockets, especially in the
bigger cities.
Be
modestly dressed, especially to
places of worship. Women should be
prepared for whistling and
catcalling; after all it’s not
for nothing that Italian men have
earned themselves their formidable
reputation! On the whole, Italy is
a safe and friendly country for
travellers of both sexes.
In
an emergency, the following
telephone numbers will help:
Police – 112, Fire department
–115, Medical help – 113 and
an English-speaking operator –
170.
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