In Italy the next big event with a solar eclipse will arrive very soon. The August 2, 2027 the Moon will return to cover the solar disk and this time it will be above all the South that will be in the front row: in Sicily coverage will exceed 90%while on the island of Lampedusa the Sun will remain visible only for a very thin portion.
Italy will even come close to totality. The band in which the Sun will disappear completely will pass over the Mediterranean about 40 kilometers from Lampedusatowards Tunisia. From the mainland and the Italian islands the eclipse will remain partial, but in the Pelagians it will be so deep as to practically reach the threshold of complete darkness.
The recent eclipse of August 12, 2026 disappointed many Italian spectators due to clouds and bad weather (although in the North there were those who managed to admire the show), but fortunately you won’t have to wait long to enjoy an even more beautiful show.
If in this case it was above all the northern regions and Sardinia that enjoyed the highest percentages, in 2027 it will be the turn of Noon. The National Institute of Astrophysics indicates Sicily as the Italian region most affected, with Lampedusa very close to the totality band.
On August 2 the eclipse will be visible from all over Italy
The phenomenon will be observable from all over the national territoryalbeit with very different percentages. The further south you move, the greater the part of the Sun will be hidden by the Moon. Sicily, Calabria and the other southern regions will therefore have a decidedly better position than the Centre-North.
Even from Rome the eclipse will be anything but marginal. NASA astronomical tables indicate a magnitude of for the Capital 0.786with the phenomenon visible for over two hours. The most interesting part of the Italian map, however, is located much further south.
Lampedusa will be one step away from totality
In Lampedusa the solar disk will be obscured for approximately 99%according to INAF. It means that at the moment of maximum only a tiny fraction will remain uncovered. The island will remain just outside the band of totality, which will instead cross the stretch of Mediterranean immediately to the south.
And this is where the geographic boundary becomes rather curious: moving out to sea for approx 40 kilometers from Lampedusa towards Tunisia it will be possible to reach the band from which the Moon will completely cover the Sun. The INAF astronomical observatory of Cagliari in fact includes 2 August 2027 among the next total eclipses observable in the Italian territory, specifying that the totality will affect the waters around Lampedusa.
In Sicily the partial phase will begin approximately around 10:01will reach its maximum around 11.16am and will end around 12.34pm. Times will change slightly depending on the observation point.
Those who remain in Lampedusa will therefore see an extreme partial eclipse. Anyone who finds themselves a few dozen kilometers further south will be able to witness actual totality, with the complete disappearance of the solar disk and the corona becoming visible around the Moon. An astronomical difference contained in a boat trip.
In the Mediterranean it will be one of the great eclipses of the century
The lunar shadow will cross a huge portion of the Mediterranean. Totality will touch southern Spain and continue through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egyptand then reached Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. Italy will remain on the northern edge of the route, close enough to give the South very high darkening percentages.
And it will be a particularly long eclipse. At its maximum point, in Egypt, totality will last approximately 6 minutes and 23 seconds: an enormous time when compared to the few minutes that normally characterize these phenomena.
To observe the eclipse from Italy you will naturally need certified glasses for solar observation. Even when the Sun appears almost completely covered, the small part that is still visible is still intense enough to damage the eyes. Normal sunglasses are not enough.
A total on the Italian mainland? Appointment in 2081
2027 will therefore bring us very close to totality, but to see a total solar eclipse cross the Italian mainland you will need to have a lot of patience.
According to the INAF astronomical observatory of Cagliari, the next appointment will arrive on September 3, 2081 and will affect north-eastern Italy. The next ones are scheduled for 2187 and 2189.
Before starting the 54-year countdown, however, there is August 2, 2027. This time in Italy it will be enough to go down towards Sicily: from Lampedusa the Sun will be almost completely hidden and, a few tens of kilometers further on, it will really disappear.
