What to do in Rome on Easter 2025

How to celebrate Easter 2025 and the Holy Week in Rome

Keep the whole family entertained over the Easter holidays with our roundup of the best things to do during Easter 2025 in Rome: from the traditional Easter breakfast and lunch, the exchange of chocolate eggs, and tuning in on Holy Mass.

As you may have noticed, religious celebrations besides being deeply rooted in Italians’ traditions, are also deeply rooted in the Italians’ hearts. Surely, Easter is among the most loved ones. Its celebration extends over one entire week, the Holy Week, during which families reunite, attend various religious events, and enjoy big meals together.

Whether you are celebrating Easter with your family, friends, or alone, we are happy to tell you that there is a lot you can do here in Rome on Easter. The city and its nearby towns offer many opportunities to discover old celebrations and local traditional foods.

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Traditional Easter lunch in Rome

After the morning Mass, Italian families always reunite for a traditional lunch. The more traditional will stay home preparing typical foods, others, instead, prefer to go to a restaurant in Rome. Whatever your decision is, the variety of typical foods will amaze you.

Easter dishes vary across Italy: each town has different traditions!  However, there are some universal and must-have dishes shared all over the country: handmade pasta, torta pasqualina, lamb, colomba pasquale, and the chocolate eggs. 

Check out our proposals for a typical Easter lunch in Rome.

Rome Cavalieri

Via Alberto Cadlolo, 101
romecavalieri.com

The Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a magnificent resort famous for its Mediterranean park and breathtaking views of the Eternal City, is ready to welcome guests for the Easter holidays. The famous Easter brunch at the Rome Cavalieri offers delights for both Easter and Easter Monday. On both days, guests can enjoy a feast of the most delicious delicacies from our region. Children’s entertainment is also a must, including an “Easter egg hunt,” decorating chocolate eggs, and sports games.

Unique al Palatino

Via di San Teodoro, 48
alpalatinoristorante.it
€80 per person, all included

Unique at Palatino Garden Restaurant is organizing a special fixed-price lunch for Easter Sunday. The menu is complete and includes appetizer, first course, second course, dessert, and beverages at a cost of €80 per person.

Uma Roma

Via Girolamo Benzoni 23
umaroma.com
€70 per person, drinks not included

At Uma Roma, two young chefs with extensive experience in Italy and abroad, Matteo Taccini and Luigi Senese, have created a special Easter 2025 menu. The menu, also available on Easter Monday, includes vignarola, asparagus ravioli, rice, and lamb with potatoes.

47 Circus Roof Garden

Via Luigi Petroselli, 47
47circusroofgarden.com
€85 per person, drinks not included

47 Circus Roof Garden is the terrace of the 47 Boutique Hotel, one of the greenest hotels in Rome, the only one in the city to have received the important Green Globe certification. For Easter lunch, a special menu crafted by Chef Maurizio Lustrati: Casatiello and cheese pie with EVO oil 47, Artichoke heart stuffed with truffle, Asparagus risotto with fermented lemon, Lamb with Cacio e Ova sauce or 65° egg on spinach cream with croutons and Parmesan fondue, Pre-dessert and Pastiera 47.

Hotel Eden

Via Ludovisi, 49
dorchestercollection.com

This year, at Il Giardino Ristorante, on the top floor of Hotel Eden, you can celebrate Easter with a special menu inspired by Easter traditions. Chef Salvatore Bianco features specialties on his menu such as artichoke lasagnetta and lamb with asparagus, pepper sauce, and red wine.

Terrazza Les Etoiles

Via dei Bastioni, 1
terrazzalesetoiles.com

The panoramic Terrazza Les Etoiles at Hotel Atlante Star in Prati proposes a special menu for Easter lunch including steamed white asparagus, tagliatella with goat ragù, sheep and vignarola, and, finally, pastiera.

Proloco Trastevere

via Goffredo Mameli, 23
prolocotrastevere.com
€68 per person, drinks not included

To celebrate Easter with great taste, Proloco Trastevere is offering a special seven-course Easter menu — a tribute to tradition and local products. The menu includes appetizers, a first course, a main course, and dessert. Each dish is made with carefully selected ingredients from small producers in the Lazio region.

Adelaide – Hotel Vilòn restaurant

Via dell’Arancio, 69
hotelvilon.com
€150 per person, drinks not included

Adelaide, the restaurant of Vilòn Roma, will be serving an Easter lunch prepared by Chef Gabriele Muro. Among the dishes on the menu, you’ll find duck-filled gnocchi with asparagus and pecorino foam, saffron tagliolini with peas, spring onion, and wild herbs, grilled lamb with artichokes and Roman mint, chocolate egg with hazelnut and caramel, and traditional Pastiera.

Hosteria Grappolo d’Oro

Piazza della Cancelleria, 80
hosteriagrappolodoro.it

For Easter and Easter Monday, Hosteria Grappolo d’Oro will include typical local dishes on the menu. Don’t miss the Easter Antipasto: a selection of cured meats and cheeses, eggs, corallina, coratella and cheese pizza. And of course, no Easter is complete without a classic: the Neapolitan Pastiera.

ViVi Villa Pamphili & VIVI Galleria Borghese

Via Vitellia, 102 or Galleria Borghese
vivibistrot.com
€30 per person

ViVi, Lifestyle & Food, inaugurates the spring season by offering a special Picnic menu for Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. The menu is designed to be enjoyed comfortably on the lawn of Villa Pamphili, …or in the gardens of the new VIVI location at Galleria Borghese!
The Easter picnic menu includes: a decorated boiled organic egg, oven-roasted organic chicken drumstick with rosemary potatoes, a mixed organic garden salad with French vinaigrette, homemade Neapolitan Pastiera, and one bottle of water. You can order this fabulous springtime picnic basket online at least 24 hours in advance and pick it up the same day at VIVI – Villa Pamphili or VIVI – Galleria Borghese.

Chocolate Eggs and Colombe in Rome

It is not Easter without an Easter egg or a Colomba, everyone knows that. Apart from being able to purchase famed chocolate eggs from more commercial brands at the grocery store, you can also try some of the best Easter eggs in Rome from the following pasticcerie and bakeries!

Eataly Rome

Easter has already arrived at Eataly. In store and online you’ll find many different types of chocolate eggs and colombe, the best traditional products, unique meats and cheeses, excellent wines… and many other quality products for an Easter to remember. Eataly’s colombe are available in two versions: the classic and the three-chocolate. This year, Eataly’s Easter eggs come in four types: two classics — fine milk and 70% dark chocolate — and two new ones with crunchy hazelnuts, in both milk and dark chocolate. New this year are also the maxi chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies.

Walter Musco Bompiani

Walter Musco’s colomba from Pasticceria Bompiani is renowned, as are the chocolate eggs, the pastiera, cheese pizza and casatiello. You can buy them in store at Largo Benedetto Bompiani 8, or order them online. Prices range between 20 and 55 euros and the products are incredible and of the highest quality.

Grezzo Raw Chocolate

This Raw Vegan shop will give you the opportunity to try the only Raw Chocolate Eggs in the world! Try their collection of vegan, gluten-free Easter Eggs, made with raw cacao obtained from cocoa beans not roasted but sun-dried, harvested in the heart of South America. Among the most anticipated creations is the 100% Raw Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Egg, the true star of the collection. Also not to be missed: the Vegan Raw Keto Marzipan and Fedora, a refined raw vegan dessert inspired by Sicilian tradition.

Federico Prodon

For the 2025 Easter holidays, pastry chef Federico Prodon presents an exclusive selection of products that go beyond tradition. One of the highlights is the Kintsugi – Ruby Callebaut egg (special edition). Other eggs include the 55% Dark Michel Cluizel, the 39% Milk Michel Cluizel with toasted hazelnuts, and the Pistachio Cremino. And it’s not just about chocolate eggs – Federico Prodon’s Easter Colombe are a tribute to natural leavening and high-quality ingredients.

Le Levain

Try Le Levain’s classic colomba, one of the city’s best starting at €18 euros. Made with natural yeast, candied Sorrento oranges, vanilla and a crispy almond glaze. Or try the classic pastiera, with artisanal sheep ricotta, available at 24 or 32 euros depending on size.

Antico Forno Roscioli

Antico Forno Roscioli is one of the most famous places for food delicacies in Rome. Buy their classical artisanal colomba or the version with pear and chocolate. Try also their casatiello, a special savory bread originating from Naples.

Fabbrica Giuliani

The Fabbrica Giuliani, established in 1949, produces chocolate and sweets, and at Easter the much-loved eggs, using high-quality chocolate. They also offer colomba, available gluten and lactose-free, and even with Marrons Glacés. Their store on Via Paolo Emilio 67 and online shop feature beautifully decorated eggs as well as those adorned with dried fruits like walnuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts.

Panificio Bonci

Let yourself be tempted by the amazing creations of Bonci and chocolate master Mezzasoma. Discover their Bria Colombe and handcrafted chocolate eggs.

Holy Week in Rome 2025

• 13th April 2025 (Palm Sunday) 
  10am Mass, St.Peter’s Square
• 17th April 2025 (Maundy Thursday) 
  9.30am Chrism Mass
• 18th April 2025 (Easter Friday or Good Friday) 
  5pm Passion, 9.15 Via Crucis at the Colosseum
• 19th April 2025 (Holy Saturday) 
  7.30pm Easter Vigil
• 20th April 2025 (Easter Sunday)
  10.30am Mass + Urbi et Orbi Blessing

The Vatican has released the official calendar of liturgical celebrations for Holy Week 2025, though it does not specify whether they will be presided over by Pope Francis. After 38 days of hospitalization, the Pontiff is still in recovery and under close medical supervision.

Let’s take a closer look at the schedule of events for Holy Week.

On April 13th, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, it will celebrate the commemoration of the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and the Holy Mass at 10am. On Holy Thursday (April 17th), the Chrism Mass will take place at 9.30am.

One of the most important religious events in Rome is the traditional Via Crucis, or “Way of the Cross,” hopefully led by Pope Francis. The procession, which retraces Christ’s path to his crucifixion, will begin at the Colosseum at 9:15 PM on April 18th. The Rome Via Crucis draws thousands of faithful, making it a very crowded event. If you’re looking for something smaller and more intimate, there are alternative celebrations to consider.

If you are looking for something smaller and more intimate, there are alternatives too; the night of Good Friday, the small town of Bracciano commemorates the Via Crucis throughout the alleys of its medieval center. The town, located only 40 minutes north of Rome, will host a religious reenactment composed of more than 150 performers. Every year, the actors’ old traditional costumes and Bracciano’s enchanting medieval atmosphere attract people from all over Italy. The procession of Good Friday is also celebrated in many neighboring towns such as Albano Laziale, Castel Madama, and Nerola.

On Holy Saturday (April 19th) there will be the Easter vigil in the Holy Night at 7.30pm. And on Easter Sunday (April 20th), the celebration of the Holy Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord will take place at 10.30am. Once the mass is over, the Holy Father will impart the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing at 12pm.

If you’re in Rome during Holy Week, don’t miss out on the Papal Audience on Wednesday. You can get tickets here. 

Traditional Easter breakfast

On Easter morning, the traditional breakfast is one of Italy’s must-have traditions. This meal, a kind of brunch, consists of cold cuts, hard-boiled eggs, different kinds of cheese, Easter pizza (sweet or savory), fruit, and freshly opened chocolate eggs. This traditional breakfast can also include tasty vegetarian options such as erbazzone, a typical Italian savory quiche stuffed with wild herbs and spices that vary from region to region.

Easter in the Museums of Rome

During the Easter holidays, the Civic Museums of Rome will be open to the public, including Easter Monday, offering visitors their rich artistic and cultural heritage.

Among the must-see exhibitions in Rome during the Easter period, we recommend:

• Flowers. From the Renaissance to Artificial Intelligence – Chiostro del Bramante
• Picasso the Foreigner – Palazzo Cipolla, Museo del Corso
• Caravaggio 2025 – Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini
• MUNCH. The Inner Scream – Palazzo Bonaparte

How to celebrate Pasquetta Italian style

The last day of celebration after Pasqua is Pasquetta. Easter Monday is usually spent by Italians as a day trip to the countryside. Families and friends meet to have a relaxing picnic in some of the beautiful parks of Rome, either organizing a nice barbecue or bringing the leftovers from the Sunday Easter lunch.

Check out some more day trips you can take to celebrate Pasquetta

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