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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
Passengers pictured standing at a bus station during a nationwide transport strike
Passengers pictured standing at a bus station during a nationwide transport strike. Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP

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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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN ITALY

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

From a Mont Blanc tunnel closure to potential disruption for rail and air passengers, here’s what to expect in Italy this week.

Published: 1 September 2024 08:26 CEST
On the agenda: What’s happening in Italy this week

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.

Grapes pictured in a vineyard in Greve in Chianti, near Florence

Grapes pictured in a vineyard in Greve in Chianti, near Florence. Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP

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. 

A passenger stands in front of an information screen at Rome's Fiumicino airport during a strike

A passenger stands in front of an information screen at Rome’s Fiumicino airport during a strike. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

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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