Some of us are so happy that things are finally starting again in Italy, others are cautiously optimistic about the situation with Covid 19, but we all hope for the best. We hope to continue hearing only good news from the coronavirus front.

After more than two months of severe nationwide lockdown, the government is beginning to relax those measures. Let’s see what reopened and what we can do now and in the next few weeks.

What you can do and when

  • Earlier this month, factories and parks were allowed to reopen. That includes also estate agencies that from May 4th have officially reopened their offices with the maximum caution respecting social distancing and sanitary measures – click here to listen to what they say.
  • May 18th also represented an important date, because many business activities were allowed to open their doors. So now in Italy one can also do the following things:
    – go to the hairdresses or beautician;
    – go shopping;
    – go to restaurants and bars;
    – go to churches, libraries and museums. So next time you’ll come to Italy for instance you’ll be able to visit Raphael exhibition at Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale which is due to reopen on June 2. Or you can visit the Archaeological Park of Pompeii that has just reopened to the public, just to name a few.
  • From May 23th you can go to the beach – a minimum 5 meters between umbrellas — and from May 25th you can also go to the gym and to the swimming pool.
  • On June 15th cinemas and theatres will be open again.

PAY ATTENTION – You must wear a face mask and possibly gloves in all public facilities and respect the social distance of minumum 1 metre.

What about travelling to and throughout Italy?

Great news! From June 3rd you can travel from one Italian region to another. Some regions have already reopened their borders with adjacent towns and provinces belonging to the other bordering region.

As Italian airports will be able to reopen, also all citizens from EU, Schengen area, Swiss, Montecarlo and United Kingdom will have the chance to travel again to Italy without a 14-day quarantine.

Booking a flight could be tricky or more expensive than before, as the major companies are planning to activate up to 50% of their normal capacity. Depending on the airline and the country where you are, there could be less flights and there will be new health restrictions, such as the obligation of wearing masks during the boarding process and on the flight or the temperature measurement. Also some airports could operate but in a limited way. It is recommended to check in online, if possible.

Airlines are reorganizing to  return to the skies very soon. So for example Ryanair hopes to restore 40% of its flights starting July 1st. From the end of June also Condor flights to Italy will start again from Germany. Easyjet will resume flights with Italy on June 15th. At the beginning the the first connection will be to Milan along with seven other Italian destinations which are Palermo, Catania, Bari, Lamezia Terme, Naples, Olbia and Cagliari. Then they will add an international link between Brindisi and Geneva. Alitalia said that from June 2nd it would gradually resume its services between Rome and New York, and between Milan and southern Italy, as well as certain flights to Spain. So check with your preferred airline what their plans are for Italy.

Once arrived at the airport you can take a taxi to your destination. Taxis allow up to 2 people per car if wearing a mask.

Also trains and buses are working about 25% of their capacity to allow 1-metre distance among the passengers. But note that Italian train companies Trenitalia and Italo are both to offer new direct high-speed services between Turin and Reggio Calabria from June.

For trains it is recommended to buy the ticket online, where you have to put your name and reserve a seat. For buses there is a mark on the spots where you can’t seat.