Monday
Mont Blanc tunnel to close until mid-December
The Mont Blanc tunnel, a major trans-Alpine passageway linking France’s Prefect of Haute-Savoie with Italy’s Aosta Valley region, will close to traffic from 5pm on Monday, September 2nd, until 5pm on Monday, December 16th, to allow for renovation works on a 600-metre stretch of its vault.
“The autumn period was chosen [for the closure] because of its lower traffic volumes, particularly for light vehicles,” TMB, the Franco-Italian company responsible for managing the tunnel, said last week.
During the works, vehicles travelling from Italy to France and vice versa will be diverted to the Fréjus tunnel, which runs under the Col du Fréjus in the Cottian Alps, linking Modane, France, with Bardonecchia, in Italy’s Piedmont region.
Wednesday
Mantua Literary Festival
Festivaletteratura – one of Italy’s longest-running and most celebrated literary festivals – will return to Mantua, southeastern Lombardy, on Wednesday, September 4th, running until Sunday, September 8th.
As usual, the festival will feature a host of readings, seminars, guided tours, and music performances taking place in buildings scattered across Mantua’s UNESCO-recognised historic centre (centro storico).
Most talks will be in Italian, but there will be some English-language events. This year’s program has multi-award-winning Irish-American author Colum McCann and British novelist Tim Parks, author of bestselling Italian Neighbours: An Englishman in Verona, in attendance.
Thursday
Back to school in Bolzano
Children in the Bolzano province, northern Italy, will be the first to return to school this year as they’re expected back at their desks on Thursday, September 5th.
Children in the rest of the country will all follow suit at various points over the following 11 days.
A full list of this year’s back-to-school dates can be found here.
Chianti wine fair in Tuscany
The 2024 edition of the Expo Chianti Classico – one of Italy’s most prestigious yearly wine fairs – will take place in the picturesque Tuscan town of Greve in Chianti, south of Florence, from Thursday, September 5th, to Sunday, September 8th.
The fair will offer visitors an opportunity to meet local winemakers and sample their products, also featuring several food stands, musical performances and a charity tombola.
Most events don’t require advance booking. See the Expo Chianti Classico’s website for more information.
Friday
Heavy traffic forecast on Italian roads
Motorists on Italian roads are expected to face heavy traffic from the evening of Friday, September 6th, to the morning of Monday, September 9th, as people make their way back home from their holiday destinations in what’s referred to as il grande rientro (or ‘the big return’).
According to the official traffic calendar released by Italy’s State Police, Sunday evening will be the worst time to hit the road as congestion may reach “potential critical conditions”.
Based on previous years’ events, motorways connecting the south of the country to the north and state roads (strade statali) connecting holiday hotspots by the sea or in the mountains to major urban centres are the most likely to become clogged with traffic over the weekend.
Saturday
Airport and airline staff strikes
Passengers flying to, from or across Italy may experience delays and/or cancellations on Saturday, September 7th, as air travel is set to be affected by multiple airport and airline staff strikes.
Pilots and cabin crew members at Italy’s flagship carrier Ita Airways and budget airline Wizz Air plan to strike from 1pm to 5pm.
Air traffic controllers at Rome Fiumicino and Olbia Airport, and baggage handlers at Milan Malpensa, Florence Amerigo Vespucci and Pisa Galileo Galilei plan to walk out over the same four-hour period.
Further information on how the protests may impact air travel is expected to be released on Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority’s website closer to September 7th.
You can keep up with all the latest updates in our strikes news section.
End of 2024 Venice Film Festival
The 81st edition of the Mostra del Cinema di Venezia – the oldest film festival in the world – will close on Saturday, September 7th.
This year’s closing ceremony will be hosted by Italian actress Sveva Alviti and will see Australian director Peter Weir, known for award-winning movies such as Gallipoli (1981), Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Truman Show (1998), be awarded a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
People in Italy will be able to see the ceremony free of charge on Rai Movie (channel 24 on Italian TV) or on public broadcaster Rai’s streaming platform RaiPlay.
Sunday
23-hour nationwide rail staff strike
Train passengers in Italy may experience disruption on Sunday, September 8th, as drivers, conductors and on-board service personnel around Italy plan to strike for 23 hours – from 3am on Sunday to 2am on Monday, September 9th.
The protest may affect the normal operation of both regional and long-distance services run by state-owned Trenitalia.
Services operated by private company Italo shouldn’t be affected by the walkout.
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