April in Italy: Weather, Holidays & Festivals

With spring in full swing, April starts to gets busy with outdoor events, parades, and festivals. Easter usually falls during this month and Liberation Day, on the 25th, is a national holiday.

What is the Weather in Italy in April?

Parts of Italy can still be blustery and rainy in April. But overall, the weather this month is typically pleasant, especially for sightseeing. Sunny days are accompanied by cool breezes, so you don’t get too hot walking around city centers or outdoors.

April is, on average, the third rainiest month in northern Italy (May and October are slightly rainier). Milan, Bologna, Venice, and Turin experience about 8-9 days of rainfall during April. Average temperatures in this part of Italy range from lows in the upper 40s to low 50s °F (8-10°C) to highs in the low- to mid- 60s °F (17-18°C).

The chance of rain in central Italy during April is also high. After November, April is typically the rainiest month for Florence and Rome, with an average of 8-9 days of rainfall. Average high temperatures in central Italy in April are in the mid-60s °F (18-20°C).

Southern Italy sees 6-8 days of rain on average in April. Temperatures range from lows in the low- to mid-50s °F (11-13°C) to highs in the upper 60s °F (18-20°C).

April Average Temperatures

April in Italy: Holidays, Festivals, and Other Events

• See the quick guide for holidays, festivals, and anniversaries in Italy in April

April 1 – Pesce d’Aprile (April Fool’s Day)

Hardly celebrated with gusto, April Fool’s Day is known in Italy as Pesce d’Aprile (April Fish). The name derives from an old practical joke when a person would try to secretly attach a paper fish to someone else’s back. If you see a fish image next to newspaper articles around the first of April, you can probably assume that the story is made up.

Early to mid-April – Easter

Easter is one of the busiest times of the year to visit Italy, especially Rome and the Vatican City, which are teeming with the Christian faithful as well as spring holidaymakers. There are several special masses and processions during Holy Week (Settimana Santa), from the Via Crucis procession and Good Friday services in the Colosseum to Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Tickets for these events are free but hard to get.

Of course, you don’t have to stay in the capital to experience Easter in Italy. Other cities have their own celebrations. See, for instance, Florence’s Scoppio del Carro, literally “Explosion of the Cart,” an event that dates back to medieval times. The Scoppio del Carro takes place following mass on Easter Sunday in front of the Duomo.

Early to mid-April – VinItaly, Verona

This annual wine trade fair is a place for wine industry producers, distributors, and critics, to sample some of the best wines from Italy and the world. Wine enthusiasts can participate in VinItaly’s tastings and seminars.

April 21 – Natale di Roma, aka Rome’s Birthday

Legend has it that Rome was founded on April 21, 753 B.C., by Romulus after having defeated his brother Remus for control of the Palatine Hill and surrounding territory. So, it is on April 21 each year that Rome celebrates its birthday, also known as Natale di Roma, with historical parades and reenactments.

The main parade takes place on the Via dei Fori Imperiali and features groups in historical dress representing all the former provinces of Rome. If you can’t get enough of those faux gladiators at the Colosseum, then this is the event for you. See the Gruppo Storico Romano website for more details.

April 25 – Liberation Day

A somber day to reflect and celebrate freedom and autonomy, 25 April marks the end of Nazi occupation in Italy during World War II and the beginning of the fall of fascism throughout the country.

Anti-fascist demonstrations are common on this day in cities throughout Italy, as are services to commemorate the many Italian partisans who lost their lives trying to defeat Nazi occupation. Rome holds commemorative ceremonies at the Quirinale Palace and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Altare della Patria.

Learn more about Liberation Day and the Festa della Liberazione

April 25 – Festa di San Marco, Venice

In Venice, Liberation Day coincides with the feast day of the city’s patron saint, San Marco. The Festa di San Marco features food, frolicking, and a procession to Saint Mark’s Basilica.

April Calendar: Italy Anniversaries and Events

April 1

• Pesce d’Aprile (April Fool’s Day)
• Archeologists rediscover the ancient city of Pompeii (1748)

April 2

• Birth of Giacomo Casanova (1725)

April 3

• First issue of La Gazzetta dello Sport published (1896)

April 4

• Birth of Caracalla (188)
• Birth of artist Italo Mus (1892)

April 6

• World Carbonara Day
• Death of Raphael (1520)
• 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes L’Aquila (2009)

April 8

• Death of Caracalla (217)
• Petrarch crowned poet on the Capitoline Hill in Rome (1341)
• Death of Lorenzo de’ Medici (1492)
• Death of composer Gaetano Donizetti (1848)

April 9

• Septimius Severus becomes Emperor of Rome (193)

April 11

• Birth of Septimius Severus (145)
• The first edition of Divina Commedia by Dante is printed and bound in Foligno, Umbria (1472)
• Death of Primo Levi (1987)

April 12

• Birth of Antonio da Sangallo (1484), architect of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Apostolic Palace
• Galileo accused of heresy (1633)
• Birth of tennis player Matteo Berrettini (1996)

April 13

• Birth of Catherine de’ Medici (1519)
• Birth of Antonio Meucci (1808)
• Death of Giorgio Bassani (2000)

April 14

• Death of Gianni Rodari (1983), beloved children’s book author

April 15

• Death of Filippo Brunelleschi (1446), architect of Florence’s signature Cathedral dome
• Birth of Leonardo da Vinci (1452)
• Birth of actress Claudia Cardinale (1938)
• Death of comedian Totò (1967)

April 17

• The wall surrounding the Jewish Ghetto of Rome is demolished (1848)

April 19

• Death of Paolo Veronese (1588)
• Death of Canaletto (1768)

April 20

• La Sapienza University of Rome established via papal bull (1303)
• First jar of Nutella manufactured in Alba, Piemonte (1964)

April 21

• Romulus founds Rome (753 B.C.)

April 23

• Feast Day of Saint George
• UNESCO World Book Day

April 24

• The body of Saint Padre Pio is unveiled for veneration in San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia (2008)

April 25

• Liberation Day
• Death of Leon Battista Alberti (1472)
• Death of Torquato Tasso (1595)
• Birth of Guglielmo Marconi (1874)
• Birth of Italian-American painter Cy Twombly (1928)

April 26

• Birth of Marcus Aurelius (121)
• Death of Giuliano de’ Medici (1478), assassinated in the Duomo of Florence during Easter mass as part of the Pazzi Conspiracy

April 27

• Death of Antonio Gramsci (1937)

April 28

• Sardinia Day (Sa die de sa Sardigna)
• Consecration of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo (1140)
• Birth of Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916)
• Inauguration of Cinecittà (1937)
• Italian Resistance fighter Walter Audisio fatally shoots Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci (1945)

April 29

• Feast Day of Saint Catherine of Siena
• Luciano Pavarotti makes his stage debut at the Reggio Emilia opera house (1961)

April 30

• Death of Sergio Leone (1989)

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