Clocks in Italy and across Europe will "spring forward" by one hour at 02.00 Central European Time (CET) on Sunday 31 March 2024. The custom dates back to more than a century, before the advent of electricity, and was designed to take full advantage of all the daylight hours during the working day.

However the practice - which means we will lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of daylight - could be one of the last times that Europe is required to change its clocks. In 2019 the European parliament voted to scrap daylight saving time at an EU level but the move was subsequently put on hold due to the covid pandemic.