Glorious June begins straight away with a celebration. Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica) takes place on 2 June with patriotic parades, particularly in Rome. Then summer truly gets underway.
What is the Weather in Italy in June?
June is the beginning of the high tourist season and that’s because the weather is typically warm and wonderful, with sunny days and little rain.
Cities near the water, like Venice and Naples, tend to have milder temperatures in June than interior cities thanks to gentle sea breezes.
June Average Temperatures
| Florence | Milan | Naples | Palermo | Rome | Turin | Venice | |||
| High/Low F | 82/59 | 81/62 | 79/61 | 81/67 | 82/61 | 78/59 | 77/61 | ||
| High/Low C | 28/15 | 27/17 | 26/16 | 27/19 | 28/16 | 26/15 | 25/16 |
June in Italy: Holidays, Festivals, and Other Events
A quick guide to June dates follows
June 2, Festa della Repubblica
Most cities, big and small, hold a parade and other festive events on 2 June, Republic Day. La Festa della Repubblica commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the Italian Republic. In Rome, the day is celebrated with a large parade down Via dei Fori Imperiali and a flyover of military jets (Frecce Tricolori), which release green, white, and red smoke in their wake. Palazzo Madama (the Senate building) and the gardens of the Quirinale (Presidential Palace) are also open to the public on this day.
Note, too, that 2 June is a national holiday. So schools, government offices, and many businesses will be closed.
Early June, Pentecost Sunday Rose Petal Drop at the Pantheon, Rome
On the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday, typically in early June, Rome’s Pantheon holds a special mass in which rose petals are dropped through the ancient building’s open oculus. Learn more about the rose petal drop at the Pantheon.
Early June, Lungo Il Tevere, Rome
In early June, Rome nightlife (at least, some of it) moves down to the banks of the Tevere, where several pubs and kitchens have set up tents. More details on the food and entertainment is available here.
Infiorata Festivals
The abundance of flowers at this time of year means that several towns hold flower festivals (infiorata), whereby the petals, stems, and other natural materials are used to create colorful tapestries.
Notable Infiorata Festivals in June include:
June 13, Festa di Sant’Antonio da Padova, Padua
Padova (Padua) celebrates its patron saint during Giugno Antoniano. In addition to solemn religious processions and devotionals centered around the grand basilica honoring the saint are secular events around the city, including food fairs and concerts.
June 24, Festa di San Giovanni in Florence, Genoa, Turin, and elsewhere
San Giovanni, a patron saint in many Italian towns, is celebrated with a feast day each year on June 24.
Florentines mark the birth of Giovanni Battista with Calcio Storico Fiorentino, an inter-neighborhood soccer match with medieval costumes and contemporary dirty tactics.
John the Baptist is also the patron saint of Genoa, where you will find food and entertainment on the night preceding the festival. Then, on the 24th, the city marks the day with a religious procession to the ancient port and a blessing of the sea.
Turin celebrates the feast of San Giovanni with food and music as well as a bonfire (farò) that is lit on the eve of the festival
Medieval and Renaissance Pageantry
June is a great time to catch a traditional medieval pageant in central Italy.
Tuscany boasts two big events with roots in medieval times. The first Giostra del Saracino (Joust of the Saracen) of the season takes place in Arezzo; the second Giostra is in September.
Pisa’s jousters take aim at the Gioco del Ponte, a mock land and sea battle that includes a tug-of-war on a bridge and a parade of marchers in antique armor. The Gioco del Ponte takes place on the last Sunday of June.
In Umbria, the beautiful city of Orvieto celebrates Corpus Domini (second Sunday after Pentecost/ninth Sunday after Easter) with a stunning medieval parade, while Foligno holds the Giostro della Quintana.
- Early June – Corpus Domini, Orvieto
- Mid-June – Giostro della Quintana, Foligno
- Mid- to late June – Giostro del Saracino, Arezzo
- Late June – Gioco del Ponte, Pisa
Late June, Festival dei Due Mondi, Spoleto (Umbria)
One of the most famous summer music festivals in the world takes place in the city of Spoleto in Umbria. The Spoleto Festival, also known as the “Festival of Two Worlds,” is a cultural bonanza featuring classical, jazz and contemporary concerts, jazz, opera, art exhibits, and more.
June 29, Santi Pietro e Paolo, Rome
The patron saints of Rome – Peter and Paul – are celebrated with vats of lumache – snails – available for consumption around the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano. This is a local holiday in Rome so many businesses will be closed.
June Calendar: Italy Anniversaries and Events
June 2
- Republic Day
- Death of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1882)
June 3
- Birth of Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici (1421). A patron of the arts, he would later commission the construction of the Medici Villa in Fiesole.
- Death of Pope John XXIII after five years in the pontificate (1963)
- Death of Roberto Rossellini (1977)
- Italy records first e-commerce transaction, with the sale of Andrea Camilleri’s La Concessione del Telefono on ibs.it (1998)
June 4
- Death of Casanova (1798)
- Liberation of Rome (1944)
June 5
- Feast Day of San Bonifacio (Verona)
June 6
- Death of Ghirlandaio (1561)
- Death of Cavour (1861)
June 7
- Birth of Federico de Montefeltro (1422)
June 9
- Death of Nero (68)
- “Maestà” by Duccio di Buoninsegna unveiled in Siena (1311)
June 10
- Festa della Marina Militare (Italian Navy Day)
June 11
- Feast Day of San Bartolomeo
June 12
- Birth of Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519), first Grand Duke of Tuscany. He founded the offices that would later become the Uffizi Gallery and was a patron of the arts and science.
June 13
June 14
- Birth of Piero di Cosimo de ‘Medici (1416), better known as Piero the Gouty, who was the husband of Lucrezia Tornabuoni and father of Lorenzo de’ Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent)
- Death of Italian Nobel laureate Salvatore Quasimodo (1968)
June 15
- Birth of Alberto Sordi (1920)
June 17
- Feast Day of San Ranieri (Pisa)
June 18
- Birth of Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511), architect of Ponte Santa Trinità in Florence
- Birth of Isabella Rossellini (1952)
- Death of painter Giorgio Morandi (1964)
June 21
- Death of Niccolò Machiavelli (1527)
June 22
- Birth of Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1427)
- Death of Leonardo Loredan (1521), famous Doge of the Republic of Venice
June 23
- Death of Emperor Vespasian (79)
June 24
- Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist (Florence, Genoa, Turin)
June 25
- Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Venetian student at the University of Padua, becomes the first woman to earn a university degree (1678)
June 26
- Birth of footballer Paolo Maldini (1968)
June 27
- Summer edition of the Feast Day of Sant’Andrea in Amalfi. The saint’s regular feast day takes place on November 30.
June 28
- Death of Domenico Fontana (1607)
- Birth of Luigi Pirandello (1867)
June 29
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