Italy at Easter: travel tips for families with kids
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter of peace, love, and joy! Marta xx
Dear MLI friends,
I know Easter Break is a popular time for families to go to Italy and I love imagining that you are reading this as you are putting the final things in your luggage as you get ready to travel to and around my beautiful country!
I know I am: we always make the most of school holidays for trips, and excitement in the house is mounting!
So, whether Easter in Italy is in your plans this year or the next, I thought I’d share some tips and ideas on how to make the most of your vacation in Italy at this special time.
I hope you find them useful. Safe travels!
Easter in Italy - dates of notice and special events
Easter this year falls on Sunday, 31st March, but special Easter traditions and events in Italy also happen on the days leading up to it and on Easter Monday.
These are top traditions and events you may want to keep in mind when planning.
Maundy Thursday - the day of Sepolcri
Maundy Thursday or Giovedi’ Santo in Italian (lit. Thursday Holy) is the day when the Church recalls the events of the Last Supper.
On this day, in several parts of Italy, you will come across religious processions and see the faithful following a special tradition that in Italian we call ‘Fare i Sepolcri’, literally ‘do the sepulchers’.
The Sepolcri tradition is simple yet significant: on the evening of Maundy Thursday, after in Coena Domini Mass, the faithful go on a pilgrimage to several churches (at least three) and stop at the altars for prayer.
On this occasion, you will notice churches staying open until very late and many people attending.
Some are people going for religious reasons, but many are visitors and passers-by, as the altars on this day are quite a sight!
Rather than being decorated with flowers as it happens in ceremonies like weddings, the altars at this time are decorated with little plants or very pale wheat.
The weath plants are grown in the dark by the congregation during the weeks leading up to this day and symbolize the Christ who lives and prospers despite the darkness of the Sepulcher - a metaphor for the victor of light over darkness, life over death, God over the lack of faith.
The Sepolcri is a popular tradition, especially in the South of Italy, but keep an eye out for open churches no matter where you are: it’s a powerful ritual to observe and learn about, even if you come from a non-Catholic background.
Good to know: Maundy Thursday does not usually affect opening hours of attractions, restaurants etc.
Good Friday - Venerdi’ Santo
Good Friday is one of the most important days of the year on the Catholic calendar.
While it doesn’t necessarily affect the opening hours of nonreligious establishments, it does affect visitors, especially to Rome.
The Pope’s Way of the Cross is the main thing that happens today.
The Pope’s Way takes place in Rome and sees the Pope going from St Peter’s to the Colosseum, where he leads behind-closed-door celebrations.
As you can imagine, the Pope’s Via Crucis is a colossal event in Rome and affects many things, including access to St Peter’s Basilica, access to the Colosseum (usually closed for the afternoon for security reasons) , traffic etc.
I do not recommend planning visits to these sites on this day if you can avoid it as security may lead to last minute changes and closures.
Aside from this big event, it is traditional in Italy to have fish or anyway a meal with no meat on this day.
This is not a tradition everyone follows, and you may not even notice it; however, if in restaurants you see a larger-than-usual offering of fish specialties, this is why!
What used to be a day for small light meals or even fasting is now an excuse for a fish lunch. The same happens on Christmas eve!
Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday are big days for the church but from a visitors’ point of you are, in large parts, like normal weekend days, Monday included.
The tradition for Easter is to either go away on holiday or to have a large meal out (or both!), so as a result, you will see the country being at its busiest.
As well as being a popular time for overseas visitors, this is a time when Italians travel too, so you’ll see loads of us out!
I know we travel a lot at Easter, and we have plans for this year, too.
I recommend booking restaurants for lunch if you have specific places in mind or you are in a smaller center.
Shops and attractions follow individual schedules so I recommend you check what is open and expect closures especially of smaller establishments ot shops and restaurants outside of the main tourism circuit.
If you need anything practical done, such as big shopping, replenishing medications etc, it is wise to do it before or after this weekend and services that do not cater to tourism will be operating on a reduced schedule.
Need to know: Easter Monday is the end of a long weekend so it is safe to expect it to be very busy in terms of traffic coming back into the cities, trains etc.
Easter Eggs and Kids’ activities in Italy for Easter
The main thing Italian kids look forward to at Easter is the tradition of Easter eggs.
In Italy, we don’t traditionally do Easter egg hunts (although they are becoming popular as a borrowed tradition, a little like Halloween); however, chocolate easter eggs are a thing!
Starting from several days before easter, you find chocolate eggs absolutely everywhere in Italy, all supermarkets even stocking loads of them in all sizes and types.
Traditional types of eggs are hollow and made of plain chocolate or you can also find really fun ones that look like real eggs as they have a sugar coating that looks like an eggshell!
3 things to taste in in Italy at Easter
Italy is very regional in its foods so what to eat at Easter depends on where you are. However, three things I recommend you seek out are:
Pastiera Napoletana - this is a delicious traditional cake typical of the area of Naples made with pastry, weath and ricotta as main ingredients. It takes a lot of work to cook it and when well made is food dreams are made of!
The best I ever had was by Sal de Riso, which is a patisserie originally from Minori (Amalfi Coast) but now of nationwide fame. If you can get a good pastiera, I highly recommend it!
Colomba Pasquale - Colomba Pasquale is to Ester what panettone is to Christmas, a baked good typical of this time of year, now largely available in both gourmet and industrial form.
‘Colomba’ means dove in Italian, and the name comes from the shape of the cake, which resembles that of a bird. Colomba is made with almonds, and while it is hardly exciting in taste, it is good and so typical of this time that I feel it’s a must-try!
Torta Pasqualina - Torta pasqualina is a savory pie typical of this time of year and most commonly eaten at home, so you may come across it especially if you have local friends who invite you for lunch or are staying in a local agriturismo with home-style cooking.
Torta Pasqualina is made with pastry, ricotta, spinach and a whole egg. If you want to have a go at making it yourself, this is the super simple recipe » Recipe for Torta Pasqualina
Packing for Italy at Easter
I know we all dream of spring in Italy as a time of blossoms, blue sky and sundresses, yet unfortunately, the weather in Italy in March and April don’t always cooperate, so do not pack for summer only just yet!
While it is likely you will have some nice days, March and April can be rainy and you still want layers. We got drenched and cold in Sicily, Puglia, Rome, Bologna, Verona, Trieste…. so really, there is no guarantee of good weather anywhere at present!
So my recommendation is to pack layers.
If your kids run hot, there is no harm in packing shorts, but make sure you also have tracksuit bottoms / jeans / long pants, t-shirts, hoodies, jacket, and if you are traveling early in the month, you can even do with scarves, especially if used to hot weather.
Bring waterproof sneakers or two pairs, so you can change when one gets soaked.
Best places to visit at Easter in Italy with kids
You can visit pretty much anywhere you fancy at this time; however, with kids, it is important to keep the weather in mind so you have options.
The cities are always a good bet at this time.
While places like Rome, Florence and Venice will be at their busiest during Easter break, they are also the places with most options should bad weather strike (museums, classes, etc).
Places like Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast are hit and miss: be prepared to hop on a train and go to Genoa / Naples if the rain is relentless.
Unfortunately, their areas have little to offer besides natural beauty, so bad weather can make it hard for families with kids who need entertainment.
Lesser visited places are wonderful at this time as you have the buzz of the holiday but not the high crowds.
Last year, we were in Trieste and adored it before we were in Ravenna and Verona and fell in love with them.
You'll find some real gems if you have time to get off the overseas visitors’ most beaten track!
Again because of the weather, I urge you not to promise kids days on the beach, pool and boat trips this season: I’ve heard of kids expecting sun holidays in Italy in March many times and the disappointment stings.
I recommend presenting them with indoor activities such as a gelato class, one of the car museums, or kid’s museums like Leonardo or Illusions instead. Then, if the day on the beach materializes, it’s a nice plus!
Places we like that are ‘weatherproof’ in terms of options for kids are Rome, Florence, Venice, and Turin. We also had a lovely time hopping between Rome, Bologna, and Verona as while we got drenched most of the time, changing cities and riding the trains offered enough variety for the kids to be entertained. The Ferrari Museums and the Verona’s little tourist train also helped!
What attractions to book if visiting at Easter
Easter is an exceptionally busy time in Italy so I recommend you book anything you know you want to secure.
The most popular attractions that need booking as far in advance as possible are:
Vatican Museums - tickets come out 60 days ahead
Colosseum - tickets come out 30 days ahead
Last Supper - last minute tickets at present are released on the Wednesday of the previous week.
Accademia Gallery Florence - tickets come out with a large advance (over 6 months), but they do sell out, so I recommend booking as soon as you have your travel dates confirmed.
Uffizi Gallery - tickets come out with a large advance (over 6 months), but they do sell out, so I recommend booking as soon as you have your dates of travel confirmed.
Good to know: Tour operators have different booking channels and systems, so in most cases, they are able to accept bookings way ahead of the official ticket release times. If booking very much ahead, always ask if access is guaranteed.
I hope you enjoyed these quick thoughts about visiting Italy at Easter and helped you plan your stay. Safe travels!
Warm wishes for a wonderful Easter of peace, love, and joy to all of you and your families from all of us!