ROME - It will be an Easter in the red zone with great limitations in travel for almost all of Italy; The Draghi government has decided this with the decree of 12 March 2021 which confirms the restrictions on holidays to limit the risk of contagion. The only exception is for the holidays of April 3, 4 and 5, Easter and Easter Monday when it will be possible to visit friends or relatives: two adults with children under 14 or non self-sufficient people will be able to move to other private homes within the same region once a day, between 5 and 22. Obviously, travel is allowed for reasons of health, work or necessity. It will also be possible to reach second homes, excluding short-term rentals, even if located in another region or autonomous province. Before doing so, however, it is necessary to check the provisions of the individual regions, which can change the rules: this is the case of Valle d'Aosta, Alto Adige, Tuscany, Campania, Puglia and Sardinia which prohibit the transfer in second homes while Sicily asks for a swab 48 hours before arrival.
Despite these restrictions Astoi Confindustria Viaggi, the association of tour operators in Italy, has obtained from the Ministry of the Interior the possibility of going abroad to countries open to tourism, always following the health protocol of self-declaration and molecular or gene test. upon arrival or return.
The countries are: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark (with the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Estonia, Finland, France (including overseas countries), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands (excluding non-European territories), Poland, Portugal with the Azores and Madeira, the Principality of Monaco, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary.
"Such movements", assured the direction of Astoi "are also possible in the red areas, subject to limitations to reach the airport and embark for these destinations".
However, the question remains whether it is prudent to cross the borders in closed or semi-closed countries for the health emergency such as Germany, semi-paralyzed for the Easter lockdown until April 18, or France with three departments that have just entered lockdown or Switzerland which has foreseen restrictions and blocks for those arriving from some Italian regions.
It is therefore advisable to refer to the official website of the Farnesina "Traveling safe", constantly updated on the rules to be observed, before moving to a specific country.
There are two real holidays organized for Easter: the MSC Grandiosa ship will set sail from Genoa for a cruise - for a few travelers - that will touch Civitavecchia and Naples and arrive in Malta;
as well as from Milan (departed on 27 March) and from Verona (on 3 April) planes take off for the island of Fuerteventura with Neos flights and stays organized by Alpitour, Settemari and Veratour.
For those who will go to ports and airports, even from red areas, it will be sufficient to show the ticket or travel voucher.
Who allowed these departures?
"The cruise activity is allowed by article 53 of the decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 2 March 2021" said Leonardo Massa, managing director of the MSC company, "and the same is carried out in compliance with the specific guidelines validated by the Committee scientific technician, as required by the same decree.
Passengers who will go to the port of embarkation must be in possession of the cruise ticket and the self-certification form, as well as a certificate attesting the negative result of an antigenic or molecular Covid19 swab carried out no earlier than 96 hours of embarkation, not required for children under the age of 2 ».
Similar protocol also for those traveling by plane: «Let's start» explain by Astoi «with the attestation of a negative molecular swab, made 72 hours before departure.
You reach your destination on the flight "safely";
on site you stay in a monitored structure with spacing and covid free protocols.
A few days before returning, a doctor in the facility makes an antigenic swab, included in the holiday price, to be shown to the Italian customs authorities.
Insurance is also included and there is no quarantine ".
The initiative of the three tour operators is only allowed for the Canary Islands (Fuerteventura and Tenerife) and it is a Covid-tested holiday experiment with a rigid protocol that, if it works, can also be adapted to other trips and other destinations as early as April.
In these days Astoi hopes to extend the experiment also to non-European destinations, which allow travel for tourism and which Italy and the EU consider low risk;
the candidates are Maldives, Seychelles, United Arab Emirates and the Red Sea.
The two types of holidays are truly an isolated case, an experiment for a few, where it is easy to trace all the passengers, but it is also a small signal to restart for an entire supply chain that has been stopped for over a year.
What is certain is that for all other Italians Easter in red is valid with the now usual restrictions.
There is only one thing that can be done: thanks to technology we can travel anywhere, enter the main museums of the world, visit cities and villages or fly over beaches and mountains.
While waiting to travel in person, videos and sites allow us virtual and interactive experiences: we can visit the Vatican museums and enter the Sistine Chapel (museivaticani.va), for example, or visit the Perugina (perugina.com) and Lindt chocolate factories. (lindt.it) to learn about stories, curiosities and take part in cooking classes.
Or we can admire architectural beauties never seen before such as "The rediscovered city of Colle Oppio" in Rome, downloadable from the site of the Capital.
For the little ones, but not only, there are 360 degree virtual tours of the Genoa aquarium or the exhibition "Tree Time. Art and Science for an alliance with nature", organized by the Trento Museum of Sciences Muse.
Obviously, it will also be possible to follow the Easter celebrations of Pope Francis on television, on the web channels and on social media.
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