1 November, All Saints’ Day, is a national holiday in Italy; 2 November, All Souls’ Day, is not, but it is the day Italians go to the cemetery. In 2026, 1 November falls on a Sunday — and it is also the first Sunday of the month, hence the free museum Sunday — and the 2nd on a Monday. For those leading foreign groups it is a weekend to read carefully: what opens, what closes, how the country moves, and why the monumental cemeteries are, on those days, the most Italian place one can visit.
For Halloween and the season’s traditions see Halloween in Italy: what actually happens; for the free 1 November, the free first Sunday.
Two readings from our own network on the same ground: ItalyPlanner on Italy in November and the Verano page on EstateRomana. The way we work with tour operators and colleagues is set out in our network manifesto.
What opens and what closes
| What | 1 November 2026 (Sunday, holiday) | 2 November 2026 (Monday, working day) |
|---|---|---|
| State museums | open with holiday hours; free (first Sunday of the month), crowded | Monday weekly closure at many venues: check |
| Civic and private museums | mostly open with holiday hours; own rules | Monday closure frequent |
| Shops and offices | many closed; shopping centres and tourist shops in historic centres open | regular |
| Public transport | holiday timetable, reduced service | weekday timetable |
| Trains | run on holiday/Sunday timetable | regular; busy return from the weekend |
| Cemeteries | extended hours and crowded | extended hours, All Souls’ Day |
| Restaurants | open, festive lunch: book | regular |
2026 has no true long weekend — All Saints’ falls on a Sunday and is not made up — but the weekend is still among the busiest of the autumn for domestic travel: art cities full, trains and motorways loaded on Sunday evening.
The monumental cemeteries worth seeing
On those two days Italy’s historic cemeteries are full of families with chrysanthemums, and the experience changes nature: from open-air museum to collective rite. Visiting them is possible and legitimate, with discretion. The places worth an hour of a foreign guest’s time:
- Staglieno Monumental Cemetery, Genoa: Italy’s most extraordinary for nineteenth-century funerary sculpture; the galleries and Monteverde’s Angel are worth the journey.
- Monumental Cemetery of Milan: the Famedio with its illustrious tombs, the Liberty and Deco chapels of the industrial families; guided visits by the City on some dates.
- Verano Cemetery, Rome: the capital’s great cemetery, with the tombs of writers, actors and statesmen, and the Tiburtino district around it.
- Non-Catholic Cemetery, Rome: by the Pyramid, with Keats, Shelley and Gramsci; run by a foundation, with its own hours and entry by donation: check.
- Certosa di Bologna: neoclassical cloisters and galleries in a former Carthusian monastery, one of the most romantic places in Europe.
- San Michele Cemetery, Venice: the cemetery island reached by vaporetto, with Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Brodsky; on those days it is the heart of the Venetians’ Venice.
For those leading groups
- On 1 November 2026 state museums are free and crowded: plan the major sites for 31 October or 3 November.
- Check Monday 2 November closures museum by museum: many venues close, others open exceptionally.
- Book restaurants for 1 November: festive lunch, tables full in every city.
- In cemeteries: small groups, low voices, no photographs of people; guided visits organised by the cities must be booked.
- Holiday transport on Sunday: arrange private cars for important transfers.
For the high-end guest
The All Saints’ weekend is, for the demanding client, an opportunity for authentic Italy: an afternoon at Staglieno with a historian of sculpture, a festive lunch in a private home, the Festa dei Morti in Sicily with the sweets brought “by the dead” to the children. The advisor avoids the free, crowded state museums of the Sunday and chooses what Italians do on those days: be with family, go to the cemetery, eat the sweets of the season. It is the kind of experience no catalogue sells and the guest recounts for years.
Frequently asked questions
Is 2 November a holiday in Italy?
No: only 1 November is a national holiday. 2 November is a working day, but cemeteries have extended hours.
Are museums open on 1 November?
State museums yes, with holiday hours; in 2026, being the first Sunday of the month, they are also free.
Can monumental cemeteries be visited on those days?
Yes, with discretion: they are places of worship and family, particularly busy on those two days.
Are shops open?
On 1 November many shops close; in tourist historic centres and shopping centres opening is frequent. On 2 November everything is regular.
Information on openings and hours is general in nature and checked on 3 September 2026 against the 2026 calendar; for each museum, cemetery and service consult the official websites (for state museums cultura.gov.it). Cemetery hours: the individual cities’ websites.
TourLeaderPro Network — contact us for bespoke programmes in Italy over the All Saints’ weekend.