Italy during Holy Week?

Holy week is definitively NOT what you would expect in Italy. It is practically non existent, compared to other countries.
I come from a Catholic country, and when I came to live in Italy my family was very surprised that everyone worked during the week and there were no special events etc.

Only Easter Sunday is celebrated, and the next day is a holiday, called pasquetta, so those days you could encounter closures. But otherwise it is not at all a problem, no closures during the week, not even on Friday. It should not be a problem!

There are more people, as is always the case with springtime and North American school breaks, and St. Peter's tends to close on Good Friday afternoon until Sunday. We were in Florence for Good Friday through Easter this year and it was fine. Busy, but even some museums were open on Easter Sunday. The key would be to get your accommodations booked early while there is a choice; I'd say at least 4 months out.

Can you take the Monday after Easter off so you don't have to leave town ON Easter?

We have to leave Sunday, his school doesn't allow days off to be taken around vacations, but I was thinking if we left in the morning most of the crowds would be celebrating Easter so it would be easy sailing. Either way, I think we will just have to embrace the crowds and roll with it. I have already been looking on Airbnb for places to stay, so we will definitely book early. I think I will spend the extra money to fly open jaw too, which will avoid the hassel of return train travel during the busy time. Thanks so much!

We were in Rome one year, during the first few days of Holy Week. Attractions were crowded, mostly because there were tons of secondary school groups there, from all over Europe; but not horrible. We hadn't pre-booked tickets for the Vatican Museum, therefore, had to wait in line; but even so, it was less than an hour. Restaurants weren't packed. Later that week, we joined a group of friends in Tuscany, and the holiday made little impact on our experience.
By the way, do fly open jaw. It will be little, if at all, more expensive; and it will save time, of which you don't have a lot.

I've been to Rome once and it was during Holy Week. Was it more crowded than other times? I can't say--I don't know. What I can say is that I did find it fun for everything that was going on. Watch the Romans stroll with their branches (as opposed to palms) on Palm Sunday evening. Enjoy the fabulous chocolate egg and clothing displays in store windows. See churches bustling in preparation for Holy Thursday mass. Watch part of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on TV if you don't attend it in person. I flew out on Saturday and was on a plane back to the US Easter Sunday. Granted, maybe this was all interesting to me because I'm Catholic, yet if you're going to Italy, all of what you see will be part of their traditions.

As noted earlier, stores and sites all seemed to be open during the week itself, and we were able to see everything we'd planned to see.

Mrs.EB - St. Peter's closes to tourists so they can prepare for the special services and vigils. It may open on Saturday AM for a bit, but we were there with guests one year and they closed even with a long line of hopeful visitors. For services on special days one must have a ticket....