May 1 in Italy
 

Is this Labor Day in Italy?<BR>What kind of a holiday is this? Will car rentals, etc. be closed? We are wondering if this would be a good day or not to travel from Venice by train to Florence where we want to pick up a rental car and then drive to San Gimighano where we plan to spend several days.

May 1 is a BIG holiday, and I imagine car rental places would be closed, because almost everything else is. However, perhaps the rentals at the airport would be open. If you know which company you want to rent from, you can contact them directly.

Thanks, Santa Chiara. What happens on the May 1 holiday in Italy? Are there festivals and parades or is it liKe the US Labor Day, where it is mainly celebrated by family picnics and is rather low key, although most businesses are closed?

I know that Assisi has a festival with costumes, music, etc., but I think it actually takes place starting May 2nd (& may go for 3 days?).

Sally, it really depends on the community. My understanding is that there used to be a lot more marches and that sort of thing, but now it is pretty low key, although there may very well be "manifestazione" in protest to recent government proposals to do away or restrict the employment for life and other issues. <BR><BR>However, I would imagine that these demonstrations would be confined to places like Bologna, Rome and maybe Napoli. <BR><BR>I doubt San Gimnignano would have anything other than closed stores.<BR><BR>Have a great time, and use the day for travel. But also be aware the whole week is a "ponte" or bridge, because April 25 through May 1 and all weekends involved. So a lot of stores and restaurants will be closed for a week or more. However, there will still be plenty open.

Thanks for your help about Labor Day.<BR>What is on April 25? We are arriving in Venice on April 27. Actually other times in Venice we have seen demonstrations by the group that wants to form a separate nation in Northern Italy. It was very interesting.

We were in Rome 2 years ago on May 1. There was a large parade through the center of town. Many people carried signs protesting capitalism-anti-Nike, etc. They also carried posters of their favorite socialist and/or revolutionary-Che,Fidel,Karl, etc. Dozens of police stood ready in case of trouble. It all made for some great pictures. If I remember correctly,<BR>there was also a big rock concert in Piazza Navona.