Italian prefectures have unveiled an unprecedented security package for 31 December 2025 that will affect both residents and visiting business travellers. Ansa reports that Rome will cap attendance at the Circus Maximus concert to 40 000, funnelling crowds through airport-style metal-detector gates and banning glass bottles, aerosols and pepper spray. Milan’s Piazza Duomo will be cordoned off with 17 access points and a hard limit of 4 500 people, while Venice, Naples and Bologna will impose similar perimeter controls around their main squares.
Although framed as anti-terror and crowd-safety measures, the rules effectively create temporary internal border controls within city limits. Employers with travellers in Italy over the holiday should note that last-minute ride-hail drop-offs will be impossible near restricted zones and that public-transport stations may close early once capacity thresholds are reached.
![New Year’s Eve Security Measures Restrict Access to Italian City Centres and Events]()
Travellers who still need to arrange entry documentation should note that VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers fast online visa processing, real-time status tracking and email alerts on regulatory changes; using the service can help ensure employees arrive with the correct paperwork and stay informed about temporary measures such as those described above.
The Interior Ministry has also reiterated the nationwide ban on private fireworks; violators face fines up to €500 and confiscation of devices. Hotels located inside cordoned areas must submit guest lists to police by 18:00 on 30 December. Travel-risk teams should therefore contact accommodation providers to confirm ingress procedures and advise employees to carry identity documents at all times. EU Regulation 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code) allows such targeted measures provided they are temporary and proportionate, and city authorities insist they will be lifted by dawn on 1 January 2026.
For global mobility managers the key takeaway is that even domestic movements can trigger duty-of-care obligations when municipalities invoke crowd-control ordinances. Companies may wish to issue SMS alerts, pre-book airport transfers outside red zones and ensure travellers download the Protezione Civile IT-Alert app for real-time updates.
Although framed as anti-terror and crowd-safety measures, the rules effectively create temporary internal border controls within city limits. Employers with travellers in Italy over the holiday should note that last-minute ride-hail drop-offs will be impossible near restricted zones and that public-transport stations may close early once capacity thresholds are reached.
Travellers who still need to arrange entry documentation should note that VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers fast online visa processing, real-time status tracking and email alerts on regulatory changes; using the service can help ensure employees arrive with the correct paperwork and stay informed about temporary measures such as those described above.
The Interior Ministry has also reiterated the nationwide ban on private fireworks; violators face fines up to €500 and confiscation of devices. Hotels located inside cordoned areas must submit guest lists to police by 18:00 on 30 December. Travel-risk teams should therefore contact accommodation providers to confirm ingress procedures and advise employees to carry identity documents at all times. EU Regulation 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code) allows such targeted measures provided they are temporary and proportionate, and city authorities insist they will be lifted by dawn on 1 January 2026.
For global mobility managers the key takeaway is that even domestic movements can trigger duty-of-care obligations when municipalities invoke crowd-control ordinances. Companies may wish to issue SMS alerts, pre-book airport transfers outside red zones and ensure travellers download the Protezione Civile IT-Alert app for real-time updates.
