Mark Your Calendars: Workers’ Day in 2025!

Italy gears up to celebrate Labour Day – known as the Festa dei Lavoratori or Festa del Lavoro – with a national public holiday on 1 May every year.

And in 2025, this special day falls on a Thursday, giving Italians the perfect opportunity to enjoy a long weekend by taking Friday off work.

The annual event, observed in over 80 countries worldwide, pays tribute to the labour movement and the remarkable social and economic accomplishments made by trade unions on behalf of workers.

In Rome, the Primo Maggio holiday is celebrated with a free May Day concert. This year, the concert returns to the newly-restyled Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano after a temporary move to the Circus Maximus last year.

Organized by Italy’s trade unions, the concertone features an exciting lineup of well-known and emerging talents from the Italian music industry, using the platform to advocate for workers’ rights.

Among the 40 acts performing are Lucio Corsi, Gabry Ponte, Gaia, Franco126, and Brunori Sas, with more names to be revealed soon.

The Primo Maggio concert kicks off at 15:00 and continues until around midnight.

Cover image: “Il quarto stato” (1898-1901) painting by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo.