Festivale di Natale and Liberation Day
 

I have a trip planned to Rome 19-28 April. The celebration of the birth of Rome and the marking of the WWII liberation of Italy will take place while we are there. Does anyone have any personal experiences with either of these events? I think I have canvassed all Internet resources in both English and Italian at this time!

We are renting in Prati, meters from Ponte Di Cavour if it matters.

K-Mac
Ottawa

I recently mentioned on another thread that we were in Venice for Liberation Day , and since Italians had the day off, the city was packed. I have no idea about Rome though.

I suspect Rome will be the same; however, I have found Venice packed every time I have been there!

We were there for that holiday in 2009. There were a lot of people around, especially in the area of the Coliseum. There was a lot of traffic and some streets were blocked off, so transportation was difficult. In addition, there were a lot of political groups demonstrating in the streets, which also added to the confusion. Also, unlike in the U.S., where holidays are an excuse for shopping, most of the shops, supermarkets, and many restauranats in Rome were closed, including the tobacco shops - which means that, if you need to buy food supplies or bus or metro tickets, make sure to get them in advance. However, the good thing was that, at least when we were there, access to major sights such as the Roman Forum were free - but you still had to go to the ticket window to get a ticket, which you then had to present at the gate. It was an interesting experience - sort of normal Rome on steroids!

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate your insights.