Public holidays in Italy are determined primarily by two Acts of parliament as well as by collective and individual employment agreements. Act 260/1949 and Act 50/1954 created four national public holidays as well as 11 other holidays.
The Labour Laws of Italy require that all employers provide their employees with a paid day off for nationally recognised holidays. If the employee is required to work on a national holiday, they are required to receive a pay rate of double their current salary for every hour worked on that date.
Italy also celebrates regional holidays. Every major city in Italy closes for their patron saint day. These are nationally recognised holidays in those areas and employers are required to provide a paid day off for those dates. Smaller towns generally celebrate the patron saint day of the closest large city.
Many businesses also recognise “Eve” dates for certain holidays. These businesses, banks and government offices often close by 1:00 pm on the eve of major holidays. This is not required by law but is a tradition. Employers are not required to provide any additional pay for hours not worked on eve celebrations.
Austerity measures in recent years has caused the government to change its opinion on moving holidays that fall on a Sunday to the following Monday. The law, however, has not been officially changed and the government continues to have the right to move a holiday to the next following workday if it so chooses.