Last chance to pick up a bargain in Italy’s winter sales
The end dates of Italy’s winter sales vary from region to region, but most businesses around the country will close the sales season at some point in March.
The exact end dates of each region’s winter sales can be found HERE.
During Italy’s winter and summer sales, shops apply discounts that generally hover between 20 and 30 percent but can climb as high as 70 percent.
International Women’s Day
March 8th is International Women’s Day (or Women’s Day in Italian) and, while it’s not an official national holiday in Italy, it’s widely recognised in the form of small-scale celebrations, marches and demonstrations all around the country.
You can also expect to see Italian florists work overtime on the day as, according to a uniquely Italian tradition, men will gift the women in their families with yellow mimosa flowers.
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On International Women’s Day, Italian men will gift the women in their families with yellow mimosa flowers. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
The mimosas were chosen in 1946 as the symbol of the Festa della Donna because, in the words of late women’s rights activist Teresa Montagnani, “they were the flowers that partisans gave to female couriers” and were “reminiscent of the fight in the mountains”.
Italy’s Day of National Unity
Though it isn’t an official holiday, which means you won’t get time off work, March 17th is one of the most patriotic days of the year as Italy celebrates the Day of National Unity (or National Unity Day).
March 17th is in many respects the country’s birthday as the Kingdom of Italy was officially founded on March 17th, 1861. Before then, the peninsula was split into rival states and regions which had regularly changed hands, allegiances and boundaries over the centuries.
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Official ceremonies are held every year to mark the occasion, including the laying of a laurel wreath before the Altar of the Fatherland monument in Rome and various commemorations held by the graves of the most important figures in recent Italian history.
Local displays of patriotism will also mark the occasion, with residents generally hanging Italian flags from their windows.
Father’s Day
While most countries in the world, including English-speaking ones, celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June, Italy does so on March 19th.
That’s because March 19th corresponds to the Feast of Saint Joseph – the patron of family men according to Catholic tradition.
Father’s Day stopped being a public holiday in Italy in 1977 but it’s still celebrated today as Italian children give their fathers small gifts and families eat homemade sweets known as St. Joseph sweets.
Start of spring
The spring equinox, which falls on March 20th this year, will mark the first day of astronomical spring in the northern hemisphere.
After the equinox – which, scientifically speaking, is the moment when the sun appears directly above the earth’s equator – daylight will gradually increase up until the summer solstice on June 21st.
Clocks go forward
Italy will make the switch to Daylight Savings Time (also known as summer time, or daylight savings time in Italian) in the early hours of Sunday, March 26th.
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Clocks will jump forward by one hour at 2am, meaning a lost hour of sleep that night but one more hour of sunlight from then on.
While the EU voted in 2019 to scrap Daylight Savings Time (DST) by 2021, Covid, Brexit and an intra-EU stalemate all delayed the move, which means the switch will go ahead once again this March for all EU states.
Superbonus 110 deadline
Italy’s popular building superbonus underwent major changes last January, with the maximum available rebate dropping from 110 percent to 90 percent of the cost of renovation works.
But those renovating independent or single-family homes will still be eligible for a full, 110-percent rebate up until March 31st as long as they can demonstrate that at least 30 percent of the planned work had been completed by September 30th 2022.
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People renovating independent or single-family homes will be eligible for a 110-percent superbonus rebate up until March 31st. Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP
To do so, homeowners will need to provide a certificate known as Work Progress Status (Work Progress StatusSAL), which must be compiled and signed by the construction manager.
In order to claim the full rebate, all planned renovation works and all relevant payments will have to be completed by March 31st.
Tax amnesty
Tax debts of under 1,000 euros incurred between 2000 and 2015 will be automatically written off as of March 31st, 2023.
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Italy’s tax amnesty, however, will not apply to administrative sanctions, including Highway Code violations.
Find further information on the Italian tax agency’s website.