Long weekends in Italy 2027: get the most out of your leave
Choose the year, how many leave days you want to use and, if you like, your town: the planner shows the best plan, every bridge of the year and how many days off you get in a row.
Long weekends 2027 in Italy: using 8 leave days
20 days off
Each leave day buys 2.5 consecutive days off.
| Fri 1 January – Wed 6 January | 2 → 6 days |
| Sat 27 March – Sun 4 April | 4 → 9 days |
| Sat 29 May – Wed 2 June | 2 → 5 days |
| Take leave | Leave days | Off in a row | Days off | Thanks to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 4 January – Tue 5 January | 2 | Fri 1 January – Wed 6 January | 6 | New Year's Day, Epiphany |
| Tue 30 March – Fri 2 April | 4 | Sat 27 March – Sun 4 April | 9 | Easter Sunday, Easter Monday (Pasquetta) |
| Mon 31 May – Tue 1 June | 2 | Sat 29 May – Wed 2 June | 5 | Republic Day |
| Take leave | Leave days | Off in a row | Days off | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 4 January – Tue 5 January | 2 | Fri 1 January – Wed 6 January | 6 | New Year's Day, Epiphany |
| Thu 7 January – Fri 8 January | 2 | Wed 6 January – Sun 10 January | 5 | Epiphany |
| Mon 31 May – Tue 1 June | 2 | Sat 29 May – Wed 2 June | 5 | Republic Day |
| Thu 3 June – Fri 4 June | 2 | Wed 2 June – Sun 6 June | 5 | Republic Day |
| Mon 6 December – Tue 7 December | 2 | Sat 4 December – Wed 8 December | 5 | Immaculate Conception |
| Thu 9 December – Fri 10 December | 2 | Wed 8 December – Sun 12 December | 5 | Immaculate Conception |
| Tue 30 March – Fri 2 April | 4 | Sat 27 March – Sun 4 April | 9 | Easter Sunday, Easter Monday (Pasquetta) |
| Tue 5 October – Fri 8 October | 4 | Sat 2 October – Sun 10 October | 9 | St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy |
| Tue 2 November – Fri 5 November | 4 | Sat 30 October – Sun 7 November | 9 | All Saints' Day |
- Easter Sunday 2027
- 28 March 2027
- Holidays on a weekday in 2027
- 7 of 13
- 10 leave days
- 25 days off
- Working days 2027
- 254
2027 is a lean year for long weekends in Italy. Of the 13 national holidays, Easter Sunday included, only 7 fall between Monday and Friday: Liberation Day (Sun 25 April), Labour Day (Sat 1 May), Assumption Day (Ferragosto) (Sun 15 August), Christmas Day (Sat 25 December), St Stephen's Day (Sun 26 December) land on a weekend, and Italy does not move them to a weekday. So in 2027 there is not a single classic bridge that costs one leave day. The useful bridges cost two: Mon 4 January – Tue 5 January to stay off from New Year's Day to Epiphany, Mon 31 May – Tue 1 June before Republic Day, Mon 6 December – Tue 7 December before the Immaculate Conception. The novelty is 4 October, St Francis of Assisi, a holiday since 2026: in 2027 it falls on a Monday, like All Saints' Day. With the best spread, 8 leave days give 20 days off in a row, 10 give 25 and 15 give 35. Add your town's patron saint and the count changes; the tool redoes it for you.
More tools for leave, holidays and calendars
- Long weekends 2026Immaculate Conception and Christmas: the last bridges
- Long weekends 2028The best year of the decade: three one-day bridges
- Working days 2027Month by month, five or six-day week, with the patron saint
- Annual leaveFour weeks: how much leave and by when to take it
Which long weekends really pay off in 2027
The value of a bridge is the ratio of days off to leave days. The New Year bridge, Mon 4 January – Tue 5 January, gives 6 days off for 2 leave days, a ratio of three. The short week after Easter Monday, Tue 30 March – Fri 2 April, gives 9 days for 4. An ordinary week off with no holiday, Monday to Friday, gives nine days for five leave days: anything better than that is a good bridge.
2027 rewards those who look to the autumn. St Francis and All Saints' Day both fall on a Monday, four weeks apart: with 4 leave days after 4 October you are off from 2 October 2027 to 10 October 2027, and the same pattern works at the start of November. The full list is on the public holidays 2027 page; working days month by month on working days 2027.
Statutory minimum leave, 2027
Statutory minimum leave, 2027
20 days
| Leave for a full year | 20 |
| To take in 2027 (at least 2 weeks) | 10 |
| The rest by | 30 June 2029 |
| Days off in a row with 2027 long weekends | 47 |
How much leave you are owed is set first by article 10 of Legislative Decree 66 of 2003: at least four weeks a year, which is twenty days on a five-day week. Collective agreements usually add paid hours off on top. The rules are on the annual leave page.
Holidays and calendars
- Public holidays 2026The first year with 4 October as a holiday
- Public holidays 2027Italy’s 2027 public holidays with the weekday
- Public holidays 2028Eleven weekday holidays: the richest year
- Calendar 2027Printable, with holidays and week numbers
- Calendar 2028A leap year: 366 days, holidays and weeks
- 4 October, St FrancisThe new holiday: which day it falls and what bridges it makes
- Holidays on a SundayWhen a holiday falls on a weekend: substitute day and pay
- Week numbers 2027Week number and dates for every week
Patron saints by town
- Patron saint by townFind your town: date, weekday and bridge
- Roma: patron saintSanti Pietro e Paolo, 29 June
- Milano: patron saintSant'Ambrogio, 7 December
- Napoli: patron saintSan Gennaro, 19 September
- Torino: patron saintSan Giovanni Battista, 24 June
- Bologna: patron saintSan Petronio, 4 October
- Firenze: patron saintSan Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Dates of the year
- Easter 2027Date, Easter Monday and how it is worked out
- Carnival 2027Fat Thursday, Shrove Tuesday, Ambrosian rite
- Mother’s Day 2027Second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day
- Summer time 2027When the clocks go forward one hour
- Standard timeWhen the clocks go back one hour
- School calendar 2026/27First day, last day and holidays by region
Understanding Italian long weekends and planning leave
The long weekends of 2027, in calendar order
New Year and Epiphany. 1 January is a Friday and Epiphany a Wednesday. Two leave days, Mon 4 January – Tue 5 January, join the two holidays: 6 days off from 1 January 2027 to 6 January 2027. Two more days after Epiphany take you to the following Sunday.
Easter. Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027 and Easter Monday 29 March 2027. The four days after Easter Monday, Tue 30 March – Fri 2 April, give 9 days off. 25 April is a Sunday and 1 May a Saturday: spring 2027 offers no other bridges.
June. Republic Day falls on a Wednesday. Two days before it, Mon 31 May – Tue 1 June, or two days after give 5 days off.
Autumn. St Francis, Monday, 4 October 2027, and All Saints' Day, Monday, 1 November 2027, lengthen two weekends by themselves. Four leave days after each, Tue 5 October – Fri 8 October and Tue 2 November – Fri 5 November, give 9 days each time.
December. The Immaculate Conception is a Wednesday: Mon 6 December – Tue 7 December give 5 days. Christmas and St Stephen's Day fall on the weekend: if your contract gives you 24 and 31 December off, ten well-placed leave days go from 25 to 27 days off.
How to use the planner
Choose the year and how many leave days you want to spend on bridges. That is usually not your whole allowance, since part of it goes on a summer break. Eight to twelve days is a good start. The tool shows the total days off at the top, each block with its dates below, and every bridge of the year at the bottom, sorted by value.
The town field adds the patron saint. We only publish towns whose patron saint and date can be read on the town's own website or charter; the search is on the patron saint page. One example that changes the count: in Bologna, San Petronio falls on 4 October, the same day as St Francis, so since 2026 people in Bologna gain no extra day.
Leave days that no longer extend any bridge are shown as "free to plan": they carry no holiday advantage, and each full week of leave is worth nine days off.
Booking leave: timing and rules
There is no statutory date by which next year's leave must be requested. The employer sets the period, taking into account the needs of the business and the employee's interests, under article 2109 of the Civil Code; many collective agreements lay down a procedure and a timetable. Asking early improves your chances for the most popular bridges.
The four minimum weeks cannot be paid out instead of taken, except when employment ends. At least two weeks must be taken within the year, the rest within the following eighteen months. A public holiday that falls during your leave does not use up a leave day.
Long weekends 2026 and 2028 compared
2026 was kinder: 1 May and Christmas Day on a Friday, 2 June and 8 December on a Tuesday. Ten well-placed leave days gave 28 days off. What remains of 2026 is the Immaculate Conception and Christmas: see long weekends 2026.
2028 will be one of the best years of the decade: 11 holidays on a weekday and 3 bridges that cost a single leave day, against 0 in 2027. Ten leave days are worth 32. Planning ahead? Everything is on long weekends 2028.
Common questions
What is a ponte?
A ponte, literally a bridge, is a working day between a public holiday and the weekend, usually a Friday after a Thursday holiday or a Monday before a Tuesday holiday. Take that one day off and you get four days in a row. In a wider sense Italians call any short gap of two to four working days that joins two free periods a ponte, such as the week after Easter Monday.
How many long weekends does Italy have in 2027?
In 2027 there is no bridge that costs a single leave day, unless your town's patron saint adds one. There are six two-day bridges, around New Year and Epiphany, 2 June and 8 December, and three short weeks of four leave days after Easter Monday, St Francis and All Saints' Day. The planner lists them all, best first.
Why is 2027 a poor year for long weekends?
Because 5 holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday: 25 April, 15 August and St Stephen's Day on a Sunday, 1 May and Christmas Day on a Saturday. Italy does not move a weekend holiday to a weekday. 2028 is much better: 11 holidays fall on a weekday.
Is 4 October a public holiday in Italy?
Yes, since 2026. Law 151 of 2025 added 4 October, the national feast of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, to the list of holidays in Law 260 of 1949. In 2027 it falls on a Monday: the weekend gets longer by itself, and four leave days stretch it to nine days off.
Are 24 and 31 December days off in Italy?
Not by law: Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are ordinary working days. Many collective agreements and employers give them off, in full or in part. Under "More options" you can mark both days as off: the planner recomputes the year-end bridges and shows how many leave days you save.
How does the patron saint count?
The patron saint's day is a holiday in that town only, recognised mainly by collective agreements rather than a national law. Choose your town and the planner treats it as one more holiday. On a weekday it can create a new bridge; when it coincides with a national holiday, as St Mark does with 25 April in Pordenone, it adds nothing.
Is anything I enter stored or sent?
No. Year, leave days and town are processed only in your browser. There is no account and no form. Only once you change something does the page write your choice into the address bar so you can share the link; that too stays on your device.
Official sources for this page
- Law 27 May 1949 no. 260, article 2 (Normattiva, current text)
- Law 5 March 1977 no. 54: holidays abolished for civil purposes (Normattiva)
- Presidential Decree 28 December 1985 no. 792: Epiphany and Rome's patron saint (Normattiva)
- Law 20 November 2000 no. 336: 2 June restored as a holiday (Normattiva)
- Law 8 October 2025 no. 151: 4 October national holiday of St Francis (Normattiva)
- Legislative Decree 8 April 2003 no. 66, article 10: annual leave (Normattiva)
- PTB (German metrology institute): Gauss's Easter formula
Prepared by Radif Partners
Publisher of an independent calendar that works out Italy's national holidays, patron saints' days and long weekends
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As of 2026, Law 260/1949 and its amendments checked on