leheimer

My husband and I are traveling to Italy for almost 3 weeks from mid-march to April 3rd. Since we are not practicing Christians, we didn't even realize we would be there over Easter weekend until after we bought our tickets! Our current plan is to spend half our time in Sicily (March 17- March 27) and then on to visit Pompeii, and spend Good Friday-Easter Monday in Rome and fly out of Rome April 3.

At first I was excited by the idea of spending Easter in Rome, festivals and cultural events are always a wonderful way to see in place, but I'm beginning to think that it will be just too crowded and busy. Since we aren't catholic, while we will partake in some of the festivities, but we also just want to explore Rome and see the usual sights.

My question is- is it worth going to Rome during this busy time? Are there any benefits or tips for spending Easter in Rome? If we don't spend Easter in Rome, what would be a good spot either in Southern Italy or close to Rome where we could spend Easter? Since we aren't seeing any of Northern Italy, I would be ok with putting off exploring Rome for another trip, but I don't want to miss out on it if it is worth it!

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

letsgeaux

We spent Easter 2014 in Rome and did attend Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican. We had tickets that allowed us up front but the main street was packed with people as far as the eye could see. It was like being in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. But other than that, everything else seemed business as usual around town. It is easy to avoid the Easter morning crowds at the Vatican and enjoy the rest of Rome during that week. If Rome is your 1st choice, I would not hesitate.We will be in Tuscany for Easter 2018. We spent Easter in Tuscany about 10 years ago. The only crowds I remember were in Florence on Good Friday. The Ufizi sold out a week in advance and it was mobbed with tourists. Other than that Tuscany was pleasantly uncrowded.

jamikins

We spent Easter in Rome in 2016 and didn't find it too busy at all. We avoided the Vatican area as we are not religious and had a great time.

massimop

I would go to Napoli, which would be quit easy to combine with Sicily and a lot of fun, with great food and art and an amazing local culture. If you are interested in folklore, Sicily has a lot of folkloric extravaganzas celebrating, so you might give some thought to reversing your trip.

But if you want to go to Rome there are ways to work around the crowded areas. But if you want to see places that typically require reservations to avoid long waits in line, you will need to plan in advance/

Holly_uncasdewar

I spent an Easter in Sorrento a few years back. They had a midnight procession through the town which it seemed everyone participated in. Was a lot of fun. Naples would probably be just as lively, or even more so.

jamikins

We also spent Easter in Naples in 2013 and really enjoyed it. The weather wasn't spectacular but the town was lively, there were processions in the streets but we didn't find it overly crowded.

Pics are here for Naples:
https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]

And here for Rome:
https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]

Happy Planning!

bvlenci

Other than the Vatican area, Rome won't be particularly crowded at Easter. There is a Good Friday procession in the evening at the Colosseum, at which the Pope normally takes part, and that area of Rome will be pretty much inaccessible all afternoon. The procession is religious in nature, not folkloric.

The Vatican Museums will be closed on Easter and on Easter Monday, and is likely to be extremely crowded on Saturday, because of the two-day closing. I would just skip that visit, but if you really, really want to see the Sistine Chapel, I would suggest going on Good Friday.

annhig

Here's the website for all the main publicly owned museums in Rome so you can see what's open when:

http://www.museiincomuneroma.it/en

The colosseum site is here:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

[my recollection is that the colosseum, forum and Palatine hill are open on Easter Monday but little else is]

The Vatican website is here:

https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do

We spent a week in Rome a few [?10] years ago arriving on Easter Sunday and we thought it was pretty busy but then we didn't have anything to compare it with.

bvlenci

<i> [my recollection is that the colosseum, forum and Palatine hill are open on Easter Monday but little else is]
</i>

The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill are open on all Mondays, including Easter Monday. I believe they're closed only on May 1st, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Mondays are the normal museum closing days in Rome. As far as I know, only the Vatican Museums have special closing hours for the Easter Holidays. Other museums keep their normal hours. However, in recent years, many museums that are normally closed on Mondays have had special openings for Easter Monday. It's too early to have details about that for 2018.

annhig

However, in recent years, many museums that are normally closed on Mondays have had special openings for Easter Monday. It's too early to have details about that for 2018.>>

Perhaps things have changed in the last 10 years or so - we found that places that usually closed Mondays like the Castel San Angelo closed Tuesday as well to give the staff the extra day off.

bvlenci

I can't find anything about Castel Sant'Angelo, or any other museums, being closed on the Tuesday after Easter. It's one of the busiest weeks of the year for museums, as many schools are on holiday at that time. It's too early for the beach and usually a bit too late for the ski slopes, so many families take the kids on short city breaks.

Castel Sant'Angelo was on a list of museums open on Easter Monday for last year, but nothing was said about Tuesday. Unfortunately, the only official list is put out by www.beniculturali.it and lists they put out have no date on them. One such list for the Easter holidays came up on a Google search, but without a date I can't be sure it was for 2017. In fact, some of the information conflicted with other information I saw for 2017. It could be that it <b> was </b> for 2017 and the other lists were wrong.

Some museums in Rome were free on Easter Sunday last year, which I didn't know about.

annhig

However, in recent years, many museums that are normally closed on Mondays have had special openings for Easter Monday. It's too early to have details about that for 2018.>>

We were a bit surprised to see the Castel San Angelo was shut - the sign said that because the normal closing day was Monday, they were closing Tuesday as well to give the staff their day off. I don't know why, I have the idea that this might have been a "local initiative".

But this was over 10 years ago so things may well have changed since then.