[UPDATE 2020 march 10th] Italy-wide lockdown, do not travel to Italy until April 3rd.
[UPDATE 2020 march 9th] Due to the changed situation, do not travel to northern Italy. Traveling to southern Italy is not recommended. All public organizations in Italy (museums, cinema, libraries etc.) are closed till 3rd of April.
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These days we have received many emails from our readers who were plannig holidays in Tuscany or in other parts of Italy, but now they have many doubts because of the news they read about the corona virus each day. Even if we are not a daily news portal, we‘ve decided to write about current situation both in Italy and Tuscany, and to clarifie what is happening right now.
In some areas of Italy there is a risk, but the good news is that these are limited areas and Tuscany is NOT among them.
Let’s start with our beautiful Tuscany. There are 13 confirmed cases of covid-19 in our region (information of 3rd march 2020). All infected people have travelled to the areas at risk and then have brought the virus in Tuscany, thus there is NO corona virus outbreak in Tuscany. The 13 infected patients have been isolated, 3 have been totally cured and already discharged from the hospital.
It can certainly be said that Tuscany is 100% safe at the moment. Of course, do not forget to follow basic hygiene rules and wash your hands very often.
Let‘s talk about the areas at risk: avoid travel to Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna regions. In fact, the outbreaks of corona virus or covid-19 are concentrated in these three regions, and the number of cases is continuously increasing (more than 1,800 cases on 3rd march 2020).
The three regions mentioned above are all located in the north of Italy, where almost all the cases are recorded. Cities like Milan, Venice or Bergamo are absolutely NOT recommended neither for a city break, nor as an arrival or departure airport.
It is safe to fly to Florence and Pisa, or to Rome, or to Naples. All these cities are connected with Tuscany via excellent fast train system. Sicily, Sardinia, Campania and Puglia are safe to travel too and have realy a lot to offer. As we said before, Tuscany is also 100% safe but chose carefully the airport and do not fly to the northern Italy.
Remember, March and April are fantastic months to visit Chianti region and the Tuscan cities of art, or to start lingering for a few hours on the beach sipping an excellent drink. Even more, for those who were in doubt whether to visit Tuscany or not, this situation could be a great advantage: many hotels and B&Bs are in fact lowering prices and queues at museums are more than halved. Museums are open!
This is the situation today in Tuscany, and it is quite stable. Obviously if there should be changes, we will update the article, without alarmism but also without hiding anything, so that you know exactly if coming to Tuscany is safe or not.