Easter (la Pasqua) is the most important holiday of the Christian Church calendar, as it celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection after being crucified for the world’s sins. Even if Italy is much more secular now compared to its recent past, la Pasqua is still a most celebrated holiday: it is followed by la Pasquetta (Eastern Monday), schools close for almost a week, and sometimes it is close to 25 aprile (Liberation Day) and even primo maggio (Labour Day). Italians have, therefore, plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Food, customs, and processions
As for pretty much every festivity, Italian traditions differ from region to region, from city to city, from town to town. Easter makes no exception. Common traits include the Easter egg, a big Easter lunch (tradition calls for eating lamb for the occasion, but that is now controversial for many), a traditional Easter bread called colomba; an outdoor field trip/picnic on Pasquetta. The saying that encompasses all of this is: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi (Christmas with your family, Easter with whoever you want). If Christmas has a mandatory family-gathering vibe—and booking a vacation over that period may raise more than one eyebrow, Easter has more relaxed social expectations. At least from a secular perspective.
From a strictly religious point of view, on the other hand, the whole Easter week is dotted with masses, processions and rituals. The Holy Week (la Settimana Santa) starts the Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday (la Domenica delle Palme), commemorating Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem. Holy Thursday (il Giovedì Santo) commemorates the Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. On Good Friday (il Venerdì Santo) there’s the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at the Colosseum in Rome, led by the Pope. On this day, some Italians restrain from eating meat as part of a fasting ritual on Fridays and statues in churches are cloaked in black or purple covers. Holy Saturday (il Sabato Santo) is for resting and preparing for Easter—in churches, the altar remains stripped completely bare. On Easter morning there’s a mass to celebrate Christ resurrection and then a solemn lunch at home.
Easter Monday, as said, is a day of rest: religious and non-religious people usually spend it outdoors, with friends or extended family, just eating, chatting, and enjoying the weather, when applicable! In 2025 schools will enjoy a long ponte (a series of days off)—meaning they will be closed from April 17 to 27 (April 25 is Liberation Day, a public holiday). Some people will also take advantage of May 1st (Festa del Lavoro) and, with two extra off-days, one can potentially have 15 days of vacation/rest!
Easter-related words and sayings
Together with religious terms related to the Holy Week —seen above— the Italian Easter Vocab is mostly related to food. In addition to the classic uovo di Pasqua (Easter egg), colomba and agnello (lamb), common Easter delicacies include: torta pasqualina, a pie originally from Liguria made with puff pastry and a spring green, such as artichoke, chard leaves, or spinach; casatiello, a savory bread originally from Naples whose main ingredients are flour, lard, cheese, salami, cracklings, eggs and black pepper, but that can be filled a piacere-basically, with whatever you like; Umbrian torta al formaggio, a cheese bread; impanata ragusana, from Ragusa (Sicily), a focaccia whose origin goes back to the Arabic domination—consumed all year round, it has an Easter twist, meaning, it is lamb-filled. To end this potentially endless list: the pastiera napoletana, a Neapolitan tart made with cooked wheat grains, eggs and ricotta cheese, and flavored with orange flower water.
As for sayings and proverbs: essere felice come una Pasqua (to be as happy as a clam, literally: to be happy like an Easter), being Easter the celebration of Christ resurrection, hence the happiest of the holidays; essere la croce di qualcuno (to be someone’s cross to bear); lungo come una quaresima (to be interminable), with reference both to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving traditionally required during Quaresima (Lent), indeed, but also to the less palpable feeling of never-ending waiting for a happy moment.
2025 Easter falls on April 20th: if you religiously honour it or not, it is a happy time and usually blessed by warm weather, so buona Pasqua e buona Pasquetta!
By Claudia Quesito
Also read:
A Guide to Celebrating Easter in the Classroom
