Italian working days and public holidays: which is which
Saturday is feriale. Sunday is festivo. And feriale does not mean “working day”, which is why almost nobody gets this right. Below is the answer for today, and the rule behind it.
Today is
Working day Day before a holiday
Saturday, 24 October 2026
Saturday counts as a giorno feriale in Italy, even though most people do not work it. It is also prefestivo, because tomorrow is Sunday.
The week
Which days are giorni feriali
All of them except Sundays and recognised holidays: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The word comes from the Latin feria, the working day as opposed to the feast day. In everyday Italian feriale has narrowed to “the days you work”, but in legal texts and contracts it keeps the wider meaning, Saturday included.
Is Saturday feriale or festivo?
Yes, Saturday is feriale. Giorni feriali run from Monday to Saturday inclusive, and only Sundays and recognised holidays are festivi. The one exception is a holiday landing on it: 25 April 2026, for instance, is a festive Saturday.
Feriale does not mean lavorativo
This is where people get it wrong, and it costs them. Feriale is a calendar category, the same for everyone: Monday to Saturday minus public holidays. Lavorativo depends on your contract, which for most employees means Monday to Friday. They are two different things. So when a rule says “within 10 giorni feriali”, Saturday still counts, even if you do not work it.
What a prefestivo day is
A prefestivo is the day before a festivo. Every Saturday is one, because Sunday follows, and so is the eve of any holiday. It is not a third category though: a day stays feriale or festivo, and may be prefestivo on top. Easter Sunday manages both: festivo because it is a Sunday, prefestivo because Easter Monday follows.
How many giorni feriali there are in 2026 and 2027
The total shifts from one year to the next, but not because the holidays change: it shifts because a different number of them land on a Sunday. A holiday on a Sunday takes nothing off the feriali count, since that day was festive already.
| Year | Giorni feriali | Giorni festivi | of which Sundays | Holidays off Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 303 | 62 | 52 | 10 |
| 2027 | 304 | 61 | 52 | 9 |
The calculation uses national holidays. A town's patron saint is festive only in that town, so your city may have one extra festive day that does not show up here.
Now that you know which days are festive
Holidays that land midweek are the ones that create bridges: the ones on a Sunday are worth nothing. The calculator crosses them with your leave days and tells you which are worth asking for.
Calculate your bridges