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Christmas in Italy is less of a single-day celebration and more of a two-week carousel of large meals, frantic shopping and family get-togethers.
But, whether you’re visiting the country for the holidays or live here, navigating the stagione delle feste can be challenging.
From reduced business hours and closures to limited postal and transport services, here’s what you need to know to survive – and, hopefully, enjoy – the holiday season in Italy.
Christmas shopping
Shopping for gifts is one of the highlights of the festive season for many.
After all, light displays and decorations, Christmas market stands, street vendors selling roasted chestnuts (caldarroste), and the occasional busker all make the experience much more special than it may normally be.
If you are looking for a one-stop shop for all your Christmas shopping, the best available option is to visit a department store.
Popular stores include La Rinascente – an upscale mall found in eight major cities, including Milan, Rome and Turin – and Coin, a run-of-the-mill department store where you can find clothes, home goods and beauty products for more affordable prices.
Unsurprisingly, food is a popular Christmas gift in Italy.
Conveniently, many butchers, pastry shops (pasticcerie) and grocery stores (alimentari) in Italy tend to prepare their own Christmas packages or baskets that you can buy as ready-to-go gifts.
These can include anything from canned sauces and jams to cold cuts, cheese and sweets. A bottle of wine, chocolates and a panettone are generally Christmas basket staples in Italy.
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To be safe, it’s best to have your Christmas gift list sorted by December 23rd.
On Christmas Eve, most stores in rural areas will remain closed, whereas businesses in major cities might only be open in the morning.
You’re likely to find reduced opening hours or closed shops over the following days as well, including December 27th to 31st and January 2nd and 3rd.
The lull ends with the Epiphany (Epifania) on January 6th, which closes out the holiday season (but marks the beginning of the winter sales, or saldi).
Reduced opening hours and closures
There are four national public holidays in Italy during the festive season: Christmas Day (Natale) on December 25th, St. Stephen’s Day (Santo Stefano) on December 26th, New Year’s Day (Capodanno) on January 1st, and Epiphany (Epifania) on January 6th.
Most stores and public offices will be closed on these dates, though businesses such as bakeries, cafes and supermarkets may be open in the morning.
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Many retail chains and supermarkets may stay open longer on the days leading up to the holidays to accommodate last-minute shoppers. Check your local stores’ opening hours for further info.
If you’re looking to dine out over the holidays, you can expect at least some restaurants to remain open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. These may also offer special holiday menus.
Doctor’s offices will be closed on all four 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 your general practitioner’s 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 often referred to as farmacia di turno.
You can consult your local pharmacy schedule here or on boards posted outside local pharmacies.
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Mailing packages
If you live in Italy and are looking to send a package to family or friends living abroad for Natale, you’ll want to make sure you allow plenty of time for it to get there.
Services available include Italian postal service provider Poste Italiane, as well as a number of private couriers including DHL, UPS and FedEx.
Poste Italiane will offer reduced services between December 13th and January 6th.
Take this into consideration when planning to mail packages, and give yourself enough time or consider using priority mail.
FedEx Italia doesn’t have send-by dates for getting your packages sent by Christmas, but says shipping services will be paused on December 25th, 26th, 28th and 29th, as well as a few other dates in January. It also has reduced services on December 22nd.
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DHL advises customers using their ‘express service’ (servizio espresso) to post packages destined for other European countries by December 20th, and packages headed for the US or Canada by December 19th.
UPS says December 20th will be the last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air packages to the US for delivery by Christmas Eve.
For UPS Next Day Air packages headed for the US, the deadline is December 23rd.
See our article for more details on this year’s send-by dates.
Travel
The holiday season is a busy time for all types of travel.
Tens of thousands of passengers are expected to crowd airport terminals up and down the country, so you could face queues at check-in desks and baggage collections, as well as flight delays.
Regional and local trains tend to run on reduced timetables over the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
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Interregional and long-distance trains, however, follow relatively standard timetables, and even on Christmas Day you’ll find dozens of high-speed services connecting major cities. But tickets won’t be cheap in most cases.
Most local public transport companies will operate on a reduced timetable (orari festivi) on public holidays. But the quality and frequency of services will vary significantly depending on which part of the country you find yourself in.
Areas with robust public transport networks tend to keep them fairly active over the holidays, including on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, whereas rural areas may only see a handful of essential services running.
Though Italy’s national police haven’t yet released any official traffic forecasts for the holidays, motorists can expect to face at least some level of congestion on major motorways (autostrade) in the lead-up to Christmas, as thousands of people are set to hit the road to reach their holiday destinations.
For more specific information about travelling in Italy over the holidays, see our article here.