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EASTER 2017 in Italy

Posted by (San Antonio, TX) on

Thoughts & ideas about my upcoming trip to Italy in April & May 2017 will be appreciated. I have not bought airline tickets yet but will be flying from and to San Antonio TX. The only firm planning I have now is that I will be on the RS South of Italy tour that starts 24 April 2017 in Rome and ends the morning of 6 May 2017 in Naples. I may be able to leave San Antonio as soon as 5 April and return no later than 12 May 2017. I will be traveling solo and using public transportation.

I have been to Italy a number of times before and have seen the major sites in Rome and Florence. My rough idea so far is to fly in Venice (where I have been before) & stay a few days, train to Bologna (where I have not been before) & stay a few days, train to Florence & stay a few days and then to Rome to arrive a few days before 24 April 2017.

My concern is that I will be in Italy during Easter and Holy Week. I am thinking the place that will be easiest (and less expensive) to obtain a hotel will be in Bologna. My price range for a hotel is less than 100 Euro per night but I am more comfortable in the 40 to 65 Euro range.

I am open to flying into another Italian city if the air fare is much less. Then I would stay in that city a couple of days before moving on to the next. So, Milan, Pisa and Bologna are possible cities to fly into beside Venice.

Since the last time I was in Florence, the bapistery has been cleaned, the Duomo Opera Museum has been revamped and so has the Museum of the Innocents. I have never been Fiesole—that is in my plans. Also the Laurentian Library has always been closed when I have been visited in the past. If I can, I will see some of the Cena Ultima frescoes also.

In Rome, I would like to go on the Vatican Scavi Tour, Domus Aurea, Santa Constanza and Caravaggio & Bernini works.

Any advice for being in Italy during Easter and Holy Week?

Posted by
2252 posts

I spent 2016's Holy Week in Sicily. I am sure the "mainland" celebrations will be similar and just as memorable. From Palm Sunday through Good Friday and Easter, it is a time for festivals, parades, reverence and celebration, (of the Resurrection), and yes, sorrow; the Weeping Mary statue carried through the streets of Ragusa on Good Friday. She had tears on her sad face and a hankie in her hand and is such an evocative statue. These activities happen every night of that week. You could google santa semana for information specific to the places you will be visiting. I was so happy to be there then, experience an Italian Easter Week and found it very different from the celebrations of Easter in the US. SO my advice? Enjoy it where ever in Italy you may find yourself!

Posted by
28462 posts

Bologna is a very good base city--interesting in itself and convenient to a lot of attractive smaller cities and towns. Try to see Ravenna for sure. It's my impression that Bologna gets a lot of business traffic. If business visits are down during Holy Week, you may find good hotel rates. Otherwise, well, it's a northern Italian city, not really cheap, though certainly less expensive than Venice, Florence and Rome. You may need to do some digging to keep to your hotel budget in Bologna (or maybe I was unlucky).

From my origin the two least expensive Italian cities to fly into are usually Milan and Rome, but it may be different for you.

You should check as soon as you can about ticket availability for the sites that require pre-booking (which include the Vatican Scavi tour, the Domus Aurea, and the Borghese if you're interested in that). I'd expect demand to be higher during Holy Week, and the first two tickets seem always to be challenging.

Posted by
1 posts

I'm curious about traveling in Italy during Easter. We're planning on flying into Rome on 4/8 then to Florence > Cinque Terre > and leaving from Venice.

Is this a really, really busy time and should we consider an alternative? We're planning on 3 nights in Rome so I feel like we'll be out of there prior to the Easter celebrations. Any thoughts?

Posted by
134 posts

Thank you for your replies. It turned out to be easier to find a room during Easter than I thought. I will be in Florence on Easter. I have my reservations for the Vatican Scavi tour & the Domus Aurea in Rome. I leave for Italy next Tuesday!

Posted by
15798 posts

Have a great trip and a Happy Easter, Denise.

For the Domus Aurea tour, get exact directions to the entrance. Unlike most sights in Rome, there aren't any signs to guide you, and take a jacket, it will be chilly and damp.

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