April 25 WW2 Liberation Day Celebrations 2026

 

Saturday, 25: LIBERATION DAY CELEBRATIONS. 

A rich program — public ceremonies and speeches to themed picnics and concerts — will  take place on April 25, a national holiday in Italy known as the Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day). The commemoration marks the day in 1945 when, thanks to behind-the-scenes and front-line work by resistance fighters (partisans or partigiani), the  Italians succeeded in their efforts to oust the remnants of occupation by Nazi-Fascist armed  forces.

During the holiday some of the shops might be closed, but the Florence offers a special cultural and culinary program. A number of museums including the Uffizi Gallery (open from 8:15 am to 6:30 pm) and all the museums in the Pitti Palace complex (from 8:30 am – 6:30 pm), comprising the Palatine Gallery, the Modern Art Gallery and the Fashion Museum, will offer free admission all day in addition to (from 8:15 am to 6:50 pm): the Academy Gallery, the Bargello National Museum, the Medici Chapels, and the Palazzo Davanzati Museum of the Renaissance Home as well as the Orsanmichele (the latter is accessible from 8:30 am – 6:30 pm). 

Public celebrations include: 

8 am: Flag raising in front of Palazzo Vecchio 

10 am: Wreathing ceremony held at Piazza dell’Unità Italiana in honor of war victims 

11  am: Speeches will be given by city officials on the steps in front  of Palazzo Vecchio, followed by a band concert in the afternoon at 5 pm..

This will be followed by the annual anti-fascist lunch in Piazza Poggi starting at 12:30 pm.  The picnic area will be open until 5.30 pm; a concert will take place at 3 pm, followed by a DJ set.