March 17 2011 a nat'l holiday in Italy - implications for visitors?

Vatican City is another country. They do use the euro; but they have their own postal system, much more efficient than Italy's. It's no surprise, then, that they wouldn't be celebrating Italian Unification.

My hubby and I were in Rome in Spring 2010 (amidst the ash cloud) and there were so many holidays & celebrations that we could hardly keep up with them. There was Liberation Day, Rome Birthday, May Day and the week long Cultural Week. There was little to no negative touristic impact from most of these. The last day of the cultural week the entire street was closed to traffic from the Victor E Monument to the Coliseum and filled with folks walking around and enjoying the day. The only holiday that affected things was May Day (Labor Day), May 1st. The buses shut down around noon and the catacomb of Priscilla that we were visiting closed early. Only the Metro was running. We had to walk back to catch the metro from North Rome and the streets were deserted. It was fun! So... if this holiday is like May Day - a national day for Italians to celebrate - the transportation may be affected. But if it is like the others you hardly notice. I would definitely check with your hotel and see if they know what impact this new celebration will have. From my web search it looks like there are many closings: schools, the embassy. But sites may be open for the popolo to visit. You just don't want to get stuck somewhere far from your hotel and have to walk miles back. Or you can just roll with it ... Have FUN!!