Increasingly, there is a trend towards more flexible opening hours.
Most shops and businesses in Italy open from Monday to Saturday from
around 8am until 1pm, and from about 4pm until 7pm, though many shops
close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings, and in the south the
day can begin and end an hour later. In the north some businesses work
to a 9am-5pm day to facilitate international dealings. Traditionally,
everything except bars and restaurants closes on Sunday, though most
towns have a pasticceria open in the mornings, while in large cities and
tourist areas, Sunday opening is becoming more common.
The other factors that can disrupt your plans are national holidays and
local saints' days and festivals. In August , particularly during the
weeks either side of Ferragosto , when most of the country flees to the
coast, many towns are left half-deserted, with shops, bars and
restaurants closed and a reduced public transport service. Local
religious holidays don't generally close down shops and businesses for
the whole day, but they do mean that accommodation space may be tight.
The country's official national holidays , on the other hand, close
everything down, except bars and restaurants. These are:
January 1 (New Year's Day)
January 6 (Epiphany)
Pasquetta (Easter Monday)
April 25 (Liberation Day)
May 1 (Labour Day)
August 15 ( Ferragosto ; Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
November 1 ( Ognissanti ; All Souls Day)
December 8 ( Immaccolata ; Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary)
December 25 ( Natale ; Christmas)
December 26 ( Santo Stefano ; St Stephen's Day)
Churches, museums and archeological sites
The rules for visiting churches are much as they are all over the
Mediterranean. Dress modestly , which usually means no shorts for men or
women and covered shoulders for women, and try to avoid wandering around
during a service. Most churches open in the early morning, around 7 or
8am for Mass, and close around noon, opening up again at 4pm and closing
at 7 or 8pm. In more remote places, some churches will only open for
early morning and evening services, while others are closed at all times
except Sundays and on religious holidays; if you're determined to take a
look, you may have to ask around for the key.
Another problem you'll face - and this applies to the whole country - is
that lots of churches, monasteries, convents and oratories are closed
for restoration ( chiuso per restauro ). We've indicated in the text the
more long-term closures, though you might be able to persuade a workman
or priest/curator to show you around even if there's scaffolding
everywhere.
Most museums and sites are closed on Mondays. Opening hours for state-run
museums are generally from 9am until 7pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and from
9am until 1pm on Sunday. Most other museums roughly follow this pattern
too, although they are more likely to close for a couple of hours in the
afternoon, and have shorter opening hours in winter. Many large museums
also run late-night openings in summer (till 10pm or later Tues-Sat, or
8pm Sun). The opening times of archeological sites are more flexible:
most sites open every day, often Sunday included, from 9am until late
evening - frequently specified as one hour before sunset, and thus
changing according to the time of year. In winter, times are drastically
cut, if only because of the darker evenings; 4pm is a common closing
time. They, too, are sometimes closed on Monday.
Admission prices for state-run museums vary between £4000/¬2.07 and
£8000/¬4.13, although for major sites such as the Forum in Rome and the
Uffizi in Florence you'll be paying around £12,000/¬6.20, and even
higher for the Vatican. Under-18s and over-65s get in free on production
of documentary proof of age, such as a passport; under-26s get half-price
entry; students can often, but not always, get entry at discounted
prices - an ISIC card is the safest bet. Some sites, churches and
monasteries are nominally free to get in, but you are expected to tip
the custodian to open things up and show you around: £1000/¬0.52 per
person in your party should do it. Otherwise, expect to make a donation.
For the latest information on museums, the Web site www.beniculturali.it/home.htm
is useful.
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