The Return to school varies according to the regions because the calendar of activities is determined by the regional administrationswhich, despite having to take into account the parameters set by the Ministry for the whole country, enjoy a certain degree of autonomy. The legislation, in force from the 2002/2003 school yearwas introduced to allow to adapt the school calendar to peculiarity of each territory. However, the variations in the choice of the first day of school do not exceed 7-8 days: throughout Italy, the return to the benches takes place around the mid -September. For the school year 2025/2026, the first day of school is between 8 and 16 September. Still, think a little: until the seventies the school started on October 1st!
Who establishes the start date of the school year
The school calendar is established by three institutions: State, Regions, individual schools. The most important role is that of regional administrations, which establish the End date and beginning of the yearas well as the periods of Christmas and Easter holidays and any other suspensions (bridges, etc.). The autonomy of the Regions was introduced for the principle that the calendar must adapt to specificity of each territory: climatic conditions, concomitance with other events, economic activities, trend of the tourist season etc. For example, in the regions where seaside tourism is widespread, we generally prefer to start the school year a few days later.
Despite the differences, the school year begins throughout Italy around mid -September: The variations in the choice of the first day of school are minimal and generally do not oscillate more than a week.
The autonomy of the regions, in fact, is not complete: the administrations must respect i parameters established by the Ministry of Educationincluding national holiday days and the principle of guaranteeing At least 200 days of lessons per year (Generally calendars provide for a greater number of days, to be able to absorb any unexpected closures, such as those due to weather factors). The Ministry also establishes the dates for the state exams that are held at the end of the first and second cycle of education.
Also i individual schools They can establish variations in the calendar, including the choice of the first day of school, based on specific needs of the territories in which they are located.
The determination of the school calendar and the first day of the school therefore takes place in three steps. First of all, the Ministry publishes the national calendarwith indication of the national holidays and the dates of the state exams. To follow, the Regions establish the regional calendaralso deciding the start and end dates of the school year. Finally, individual schools can introduce their calendar, with minimal variations, because they must respect national and regional parameters. The variations are determined by Council of Institute On the proposal of the Teaching Board.
In the past, the school year began the same day across the country. Until the 70s, the school always began the October 1st. For this reason, children enrolled in the first grade were called “remigini“, Because 1 October is the day of San Remigio. The rule changed about fifty years ago: in 1977 the beginning of the year was anticipated a One day around mid -Septemberestablished year by year by the Ministry of Public Education for all Italian schools. In 1998 the legislation was modified through the Legislative Decree n.112 of 31 March who yielded various skills to the regions, including that of determining the school calendar. The new rule entered into force in the 2002/2003 school year: it has been since then, therefore, that the first day of school has been different according to the regions.
The calendar of the school year 2025/2026
In 2025, the school year began in the period included between 8 September (Autonomous Province of Bolzano) e September 16 (Calabria). In most regions, the start of the lessons is set to Monday 15 September. The complete list is as follows:
- Abruzzo: September 15;
- Basilicata: September 15;
- Calabria: September 16;
- Campania: September 15;
- Emilia Romagna: September 15;
- Friuli Venezia Giulia: 11 September;
- Lazio: September 15;
- Liguria: September 15;
- Lombardy: September 12;
- Marche: September 15th;
- Molise: September 15;
- Piedmont: September 10;
- Autonomous Province of Bolzano: September 8;
- Autonomous Province of Trento: 10 September
- Puglia: September 16;
- Sardinia: September 15;
- Sicily: September 15;
- Tuscany: September 15;
- Trentino: September 10;
- Umbria: September 15;
- Veneto: September 10;
- Valle d’Aosta: September 10.
