I will in Rome on May 1 and I now realize that it's a national holiday. I assume that the museums will be closed. What can we expect to find open? I assume that there will be restaurants open on that day. Any suggestions for activities on that date? Thanks.

the restaurants will be open, the buses will not run for part of the day, you can go for a stroll in one of the beautiful parks ( villas).
The city was very crowded when we where there at the same time last year.

Marie, I hope you dont mind me jumping on this thread but we will be finishing up the Amalfi Coast, stopping at Paestum then driving back up towards Rome on May 1st. Does anyone anticipate a wrench in the plans because of the Holiday?

Thanks.

Churches will be open and it looks like the Borghese and affiliated museums are open. The web site says closed Jan 1 and Dec 25.

Thanks for the replies - it sounds like it won't be that big a deal for us. I was unaware of the holiday when we made our plans, but now I am interested in seeing what Rome will be like. We were in Paris in May during one of their holidays around our Memorial Day and it wasn't a problem for us. And Jersey1977, I don't mind your jumping in, either!

i would be worried about holiday traffic. Any consideration of leaving the car in Salerno and taking a train into Rome?

What kind of Holiday traffic are we talking about? We are not driving into Rome but beyond to Orvieto. If we stick to the autostrade will we have significant delays? Is it like the US when the traffic is worse the day before the Holiday than the actually Holiday itself? Please advise... Thanks