Carnival
in Ivrea, near Turin, with costumes, parades, and cooking in the streets and the
Battle of the Oranges, on Quinquagesima Sunday and Shrove Monday.
APRIL: Holy Week with parades and outdoor
events at every major city and most small towns in Italy. Rome, Naples, Assisi,
and Florence have large events.
In Rome, a torchlit Good Friday Procession led by
the Pope winds from the Colosseum past the Roman Forum and up the Palatine Hill.
The Easter Sunday Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion
of the Cart, in Florence, is the eruption of a cartful of fireworks in Piazza
del Duomo, set off by a mechanical dove released from the altar during High
Mass.
Easter Mass at the Vatican in Rome is long,
intense, and packed, with many people attending in elaborate holiday costumes.
MAY: Florence May Music Festival
The Feast of Sant'Efisio in Cagliari in Sardinian
costume on May 1st.
During the Race of the Candles (Corsa dei Ceri)
in Gubbio, a procession to the top of Mt. Ingino with young men in local costume
carrying huge wooden pillars.
Sardinian Cavalcade (Cavalcata Sarda) is a
mid-May procession of over 3,000 people in Sardinian costume winding through
Sassari.
Palio of the Archers held the last Sunday
in May, is a medieval crossbow contest in Gubbio.
JUNE: Battle of the Bridge, in Pisa, is a
medieval parade and competition.
Flower Festival in Genzano (Rome), is a religious
procession.
Regatta of the Great Maritime Republics between
Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice.
Football Games in 16th-Century Costume, late June
in Florence, commemorate a match played in 1530 include fireworks displays.
Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, is a
performing-arts festival, for concerts, operas, ballets, film screenings, and
crafts fairs.
JULY: Summer Operetta Festival held in
Trieste from June through early August.
The world-famous Palio, in Siena, is a bareback
horse race with ancient factions showing their colors and participants competing
for the palio (banner).
Arena of Verona Outdoor Opera Season with
productions in the Roman amphitheatre.
Umbria Jazz Festival, in Perugia
Feast of the Redeemer is a procession of gondolas
and other craft commemorating the end of the epidemic of 1575 in Venice with a
firework display.
AUGUST: Venice Film Festival in late
August.
Stresa Musical Weeks cconcerts and recitals in
Stresa.
SEPTEMBER: Historic Regatta includes a
competition between two oar gondolas in Venice.
Joust of the Saracen is a tilting contest with
knights in 13th-century armor in Arezzo.
Joust of the Quintana is a 17th-century-style
joust and historical procession in Foligno.
OCTOBER: Alba's 100 Towers Tournament
features costumes and races and is held with the Truffle Fair.
Feast of St. Francis is in Assisi
DECEMBER: Feast of St. Ambrose in Milan
opens La Scala's opera season in early December.
Opera Season is in full swing from December to
June at La Scala in Milan and elsewhere in Turin, Rome, Naples, Parma, Venice,
and Genoa.
New Year's Eve celebration n Rome with
fireworks in Piazza del Popolo.
Italy
has a long history - Rome
was the capital of the ancient Roman Empire. The capital Rome is said to
have been founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus. Italy
became a nation-state - in 1861 when The Italy mainland with Sardinia and
Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel. In the early 1920s when
Mussolini established a Fascist dictatorship a democratic republic replaced the
monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. The
Vatican, Colosseum and the Spanish Steps some attractions in Rome. 
Venice
is built on islands and canals became its streets, linking piazzas, palaces and
its churches. Florence is a beautiful city -
visit the Uffizi Gallery, Michaelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ponte Vechio, Plaza
Michaelangelo (beautiful views of the city) and the Duomo. Naples
with its Bay and Mount Vesuvius,full of wealth of architecture, art treasures
and archeological remains. Visit Pompeii and Herculaneum and the island of Capri
and Ischia. The Italian Riviera The
Italian Riviera is a with its warm seas, green mountains and villages and
towns.