We will be on a cruise ship and stopping at Civitevecchia for the day and interested in traveling to Rome (in port from 6:45am-6pm) . We will be there on 8/15/26, which is also Ferragosto/Assumption of Virgin Mary, and it looks like the Pope is also speaking at noon. I have been looking into St. Peters/Museums/Vatican and it looks like the museums and Sistine chapel may be closed due to the holiday? would we still be able to get into St. Peters Basilica? Would it be better to try and find a timed entrance ticket? Or, will it be absolutely insane to try to get in anywhere that day with holiday, crowds with Pope speaking etc? Any recommendations from anyone familiar with this day or what might be opened or closed not would be most appreciated!
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Brooklyn, NY
4917 posts
Apart from Easter and Christmas, the Assumption is a very important day. Many countries are closed tight and there may be processions.
I know in Croatia, everything is closed, all pubic transportation is free, and there are many processions in every city. In fact, on the smaller islands, everyone gets together to clean the church the week before. Italy may be similar.
Unless I was going on a ship excursion, I wouldn’t chance it.