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WHAT CHANGES IN ITALY

On the agenda: What’s happening in Italy this week

From the start of Milan Fashion Week to food and wine festivals and a 24-hour nationwide public transport strike, here’s what to expect in Italy this week.

Published: 15 September 2024 09:15 CEST
A picture taken in Milan's Porta Nuova neighbourhood shows a traditional city tram
A picture taken in Milan's Porta Nuova neighbourhood shows a traditional city tram. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

Monday 

Back to school in eight regions

Children in eight more Italian regions – Lazio, Puglia, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Calabria, Liguria, Abruzzo and Basilicata – will head back to school on Monday, September 16th. 

These will be the last of Italy’s 20 regions to resume classes following the summer break.

Italian schools are managed by regional authorities, which is why return dates vary depending on where you are in the country.

Tuesday 

Milan Fashion Week 

Milan Fashion Week will kick off in earnest on Tuesday, September 17th, running until Monday, September 23rd.

Some of the world’s most renowned designers will be showing their women’s collections for spring/summer 2025 at venues all around the city. 

This year’s events calendar is available here. 

Wednesday

Feast of San Gennaro

Celebrations for the feast day of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, will begin on the evening of Wednesday, September 18th, and continue until Thursday, September 19th.

Starting at 5.15 pm at the Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore in the Forcella neighbourhood, a procession will make its way to the Santa Maria Assunta basilica for a 6.30pm ceremony. 

A celebratory mass will be held in the morning of Thursday, September 19th, at 8 am and again at 10am. 

During the second mass, priests will bring out a vial of the saint’s dried blood.

If the blood liquefies, that’s a good omen; the occasions when it doesn’t (the ritual is repeated three times a year) are feared to portend disaster.

Thursday

G7 culture summit to be held in Naples

Cultural ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) will be in Naples from Thursday, September 19th, to Saturday, September 21st, for a Ministerial Meeting on Culture. 

On Friday, September 20th, the representatives of Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, the US and the UK are scheduled to visit the archaeological ruins of Pompeii, according to Ansa. 

Officials are also planning a trip to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, which houses artefacts excavated in Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

Friday

24-hour nationwide public transport strike

Public transport passengers may experience delays and/or cancellations on Friday, September 20th, as staff at bus, tram, underground and commuter train services around Italy may be disrupted by a 24-hour strike.

As is the case with most strikes in Italy, the amount of disruption faced by passengers is expected to vary from region to region, or even city to city, depending on the number of workers participating in the walkout.

Even in the case of a highly disruptive strike however, transport companies will guarantee the operation of a number of essential services (servizi minimi) during peak commute times.

Friday’s protest is backed by three of Italy’s largest trade unions – CUB, COBAS and USB.

Weekend

Sicily’s island-wide cultural heritage festival 

The 2024 edition of Sicily’s popular Vie dei Tesori – an annual festival celebrating the island’s diverse and far-reaching cultural heritage – will start this weekend. 

Over eight weekends from September to November, 17 towns and cities across the island will put on hundreds of concerts, hikes, tasting experiences, exhibitions and tours of villas, gardens and churches that are usually closed to the general public. 

You can explore the participating cities and events here. 

Food and wine festivals around the country

September is harvest time in Italy, which means an abundance of food and wine festivals are being held up and down the boot.

With most featuring tastings and artisan craft booths and performances, these are a great way to connect with local communities.   

In Lariano, in the Rome metropolitan area, September 21st-22nd will be the final weekend of the yearly Porcini mushroom festival. 

In Emilia Romagna, Castelvetro will host its Sagra dell’Uva (grape festival) on Saturday and Sunday.

In Puglia, the National Association of Women in Wine will hold the 10th anniversary of the Summer Wine festival on Saturday.

In Lombardy’s San Colombano al Lambro, between Milan and Piacenza, the 66th edition of the annual Festa dell’Uva will be held on Sunday.

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN ITALY

On the agenda: What’s happening in Italy this week

From a nationwide public transport strike to the start of the school year in 12 regions and tennis Davis Cup matches in Bologna, here’s what to expect in Italy this week.

Published: 8 September 2024 08:05 CEST
On the agenda: What’s happening in Italy this week

Monday 

Eight-hour nationwide public transport strike

Public transport passengers may face delays or cancellations on Monday, September 9th, as staff at bus, tram and commuter train operators around the country plan to strike for eight hours. 

The timing and impact of the strike, which is backed by some of Italy’s main transport unions, will vary from city to city.

Even in the case of a highly disruptive strike however, some essential services (servizi minimi) are guaranteed to run at peak travel times. 

Ottaviano stop on Rome’s Metro A line reopens

The Ottaviano stop on Rome’s Metro A line will reopen on Monday, September 9th, after being shut for over one and a half months, according to the city’s public transport operator Atac.

The stop was closed on July 22nd to allow for planned maintenance and construction works ahead of the 2025 Jubilee Year, when the capital’s expected to welcome between 30 and 35 million visitors.

READ ALSO: The tram and metro closures to expect in Rome in autumn 2024

Two other Metro A stations – Spagna and Furio Camillo – will remain shut in September after closing on July 15th and August 19th respectively.

Besides planned metro station closures, Rome’s entire tram network will be replaced by buses from September 16th until November 3rd under efforts to upgrade key parts of the local tram infrastructure. 

School starts in 12 regions

Children in 12 Italian regions, including Lombardy, Veneto and Campania, will be filing back into their classrooms at different points this week.

Schools in the country are managed by regional authorities, which is why return dates vary depending on where you are in the country.

This year, the dates are:

  • September 5th: Bolzano province
  • September 9th: Trento province
  • September 11th: Piedmont, Veneto, Marche, Umbria, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Aosta Valle
  • September 12th: Lombardy, Campania, Sicily, Sardinia and Molise
  • September 16th: Lazio, Puglia, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Calabria, Liguria, Abruzzo and Basilicata

Tuesday

Bologna hosts 2024 Davis Cup group stage

The city of Bologna, in the northeastern Emilia Romagna region, will play host to Group A matches of the 2024 Davis Cup – the premier international team event in men’s tennis – from Tuesday, September 10th, to Saturday, September 15th. 

Belgium, Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands will compete in a round-robin format, with the top two teams progressing to the Davis Cup Final 8, which will take place in Malaga, Spain, from November 19th to November 24th.

All matches will played at the Unipol Arena, west of Bologna’s city centre. 

Further details about the matches and tickets can be found here.  

Wednesday 

Rome-Munich, Rome-Vienna sleeper trains resume 

Two sleeper trains linking Rome with Munich, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, will resume on Wednesday, September 11th, after stopping for over three months to allow for construction works on the Bologna-Prato section. 

The NJ294 night train is scheduled to depart from Rome’s Tiburtina station every day at 5.25pm, reaching Munich in just under 16 hours, with stops in Florence, Bologna and Salzburg. 

The NJ40294 train will also depart from Rome’s Tiburtina station every day at 5.25pm, calling at Florence, Bologna and Leoben before arriving in Vienna around 9am the following day. 

More details are available on Austrian rail operator OBB’s website. 

Sunday

Giostra della Quintana in Umbria

The Giostra della Quintana – an iconic medieval jousting tournament held twice a year in Foligno, Umbria – will take place on Sunday, September 15th.

READ ALSO: What’s on in Italy: 10 events not to miss this September

The joust will see ‘knights’ chosen from each of the city’s ten districts compete to ride their horse around a treacherous racetrack and insert their lance through a ring hanging from the arm of a statue of god Mars in the fastest time.

Foligno generally goes all out to celebrate the occasion, with townsfolk dressing up in baroque costumes, and taverns serving traditional 17th-century dishes in the days leading up to the tournament.

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