Church Services in English Most churches will hold their holiday services in Italian, but the bigger

Whether you re planning to travel in Italy during the winter holiday season or you re looking for ways to incorporate Italian holiday traditions into your celebrations this year, you ll find what you need on this page, including everything you need to know about spending Christmas in Italy or New Year s in Italy .
Italy is an overwhelmingly Catholic country, so the dominant holidays in December-January are the ones you might expect but you might be surprised that Christmas Day is pretty much on equal footing with the Epiphany in terms of importance.
Traveling in Italy during the holidays can be magical any place that s decked out in its celebratory finery is a nice place to be in my book but it can also present some unique traveling wilburys cd challenges. They re easy to deal with if you re prepared for them in advance.
Weather Remember that this is winter, and the weather is likely to be quite cold and possibly damp depending on where you are in Italy. You should be prepared for cold weather, and be sure to check the Italy weather forecasts right before you leave home to find out about anything traveling wilburys cd unusual.
Holiday Schedules The dates listed traveling wilburys cd above are national holidays, which means that banks, shops, restaurants, and other businesses may be closed for the entire day or part of the day. Transportation schedules are often on what are called ferie schedules (holiday schedules) as well, which means that although things like trains and buses are running traveling wilburys cd they re much less frequent than normal. Plan ahead do a bit of food shopping so you re not stuck if many cafes are closed, book train tickets in advance to make sure you get a seat (or plan to not travel on those days) and you ll be prepared to simply enjoy the holiday.
Mini High Season Although this is winter, which is usually the low season in Italy, the holidays represent a mini-spike in tourism. This means prices go up on things like hotels and (sometimes) airfare, and crowds can be more of an issue than you might expect at this time of year. It s a good idea to book in advance when possible.
Family-Oriented Christmas especially is a very family-oriented holiday in Italy, so there aren t as many public celebrations that visitors can take part in (besides special services at churches). There are sometimes religious processions and bonfires, so it s worth asking at the tourist information office beforehand. New Year s celebrations are much more public, with concerts in public squares and fireworks going off everywhere.
Church Services in English Most churches will hold their holiday services in Italian, but the bigger cities in Italy almost always have at least one place where there are services in English (and sometimes other languages, too). Ask at the tourist information office beforehand.
If you can t be in Italy for the holidays this year, you can still incorporate some of the Italian holiday traditions into your own celebrations. Here are some ideas to do just that add your ideas in the comments!
I was planning to travel traveling wilburys cd from Venice to Rome on 1/6 this coming January. Do you know if public transportation (trains between cities and within Rome) will still be functioning normally since it is Epiphany?