Over the past few weeks there have been the first rumors regarding the Green Flags 2021, which are related to the beaches ideal for families with children and teenagers from 0 to 18 years.

Also for this summer Sicily stands out in this ranking, with three coasts: Noto, Sampieri and Tonnarella, located in the eastern area of ​​Sicily. If Noto and Sampieri are two flagships of the South-East area of ​​the region, both also part of the Vie del Barocco, Tonnarella instead is located in the area of Messina, shortly after the Marinello lakes, another place of extraordinary beauty in the area.

Noto obtains this recognition for the fifth consecutive year, thanks to the wide and sandy coast with a few accesses to the sea, low water – allowing children to play safely -, presence of lifeguards and lifeboats, beaches equipped with changing tables and services dedicated to early childhood.

New entries are instead Sampieri and Tonnarella, whose beaches had some previous recognition not only thanks to all the requisites required to obtain the Green Flag, but also for the proximity to other structures such as farmhouses, thus sealing a particular proximity to sea and nature, an added value not to be overlooked. Furthermore, Sampieri was the first to obtain the title as she was the first to gather and deliver all the official documentation necessary for the candidacy, complete with as many as 55 reports from pediatricians, when 35 are sufficient by regulation.

The delivery ceremony of the Green Flags 2021 will be held in Alba Adriatica on July 10th, and never as this year the event is full of importance given the need for families and children to enjoy outdoor and seaside holidays, after a long period spent at home.

It seems that the prospects for those who want to travel during summer 2021 have begun to take on a more positive connotation: from May 15th, in fact, for those traveling to Italy from Europe, it will be enough to show the negative swab report or the Covid vaccination certificate, without having to undergo the quarantine period required until now.

This regulation will apply to all the countries of the European Union, Great Britain and Israel, and has obviously been welcomed with great relief by the Italian tourism sector, which is already beginning to see the first reservations for the summer from the Netherlands, Germany. and Portugal.

The next step, now, consists in applying the same measures also for those coming from the United States (where Covid-free flights are already on the agenda), from Russia and China, the most important areas where tourist come from to visit Italy.

Regarding Sicily, however, the Covid-free islands project has been correctly launched: in Salina for example the first part of the generalized vaccination has already been completed and the other Aeolian islands are proceeding, and the same is for Lampedusa. The project will end with the islands of Ustica and Linosa, with the hope of ending within a few weeks and making some of the most important locations of tourism in Italy safe for both its population and tourists.

For those traveling from Sicily, on the other hand, Palermo Falcone e Borsellino Airport announced the 91 destinations for summer 2021, between domestic and international, aimed at connecting 21 countries with 31 airlines, including some new entries such as Blue Air , Lumiwings, Lot and Wizz Air.

After a difficult year for tourists and operators of the sector, it would therefore seem that there is a glimpse, which it is hoped to become bigger and more concrete in the coming weeks.

Protagonist of the architecture and history of Palermo between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s, the Liberty style has strongly marked the characteristics of the city, leaving today several traces of its unique and elegant style.

Most of the villas and gardens of Palermo in Liberty and Art Nouveau style are open to visitors during certain periods of the year (such as for Le Vie dei Tesori), attracting citizens and tourists curious to relive, through the walls of the ancient noble houses, glimpses and moments of a bygone era. For years, however, the hypothesis of creating a real Art Nouveau Itinerary had been making its way, a project that today feels more real than ever: news of the last few days is in fact the one coming from the Regional Presidency, which announces the intention to finance the creation of the regional Liberty Museum of Villa Deliella and the itinerary with the same name.

This news has its important artistic and cultural significance, but not only: between the 1950s and 1960s the characteristics of Palermo were completely transformed due to building speculation, the so-called “Sacco di Palermo” (Sack of Palermo), which resulted in the destruction of many of the most emblematic Liberty villas of the city, including the aforementioned Villa Deliella, on whose land there is now a parking lot; the choice to recognize the importance of an architectural style that has profoundly marked the history and society of Sicily is therefore a clear signal of the desire to restore, as far as possible, the repeatedly violated beauty of a city that has seen during the Art Nouveau period its golden age.

Going to the first news on the project, the itinerary will connect the remains of Villa Deliella with the Villino Ida (which will be used as a museum entirely dedicated to the architect Ernesto Basile), the Villino Favaloro (which will become the seat of the Regional Museum of Photography) and the Villino Florio (inside which temporary thematic exhibitions will be organized). It will be therefore even more interesting and evocative to follow the footsteps of the great protagonists of the time, including Ernesto Basile himself, the Florio and Whitaker families, rediscovering the beauty and characteristics of a part of the city yet to be discovered, for those who visit the city of Palermo for the first time and also for its citizens.

The summer breeze is already in the air and the first hypotheses about the upcoming summer holidays are making their way and, thanks to the vaccination plan, the forecasts on the characteristics of the second summer since the beginning of the healt emergency are starting to take place.

As already foreseen, and as occurred for the last season, Sicily is again among the favorite locations, especially considering the chance of staying in rooms or apartments in locations with several attractions just a few km away from each others. Also from Sicily it will be possible to travel easily, thanks to the new airport routes recently inaugurated and the protective measures taken for those traveling, both departing and returning. An example is that of Palermo Airport, which from April 19th will provide a free antigen swab also for departing passengers: the passengers will just have to show the boarding pass and fill in the form (which can also be downloaded and filled in from home) to access the dedicated area, also accessible from the day before for those traveling on the first flight in the morning.

Still on the subject of air travel, the news of the opening, by Ryanair, of new routes from Palermo Airport, to Cagliari, Alghero, Seville, London, Krakow and other destinations, is in recent days, including the possibility to change your booking at no additional costs and twice for flights purchased by June 2021 departing until October 2021. Travel to London will also be possible with EasyJet, with 6 weekly flights to Luton, and to Germany with Eurowings, twice a week to Düsseldorf.

Compatibly with any updates on the current restrictions, in anticipation of the summer it will be possible to travel with vaccine certification or with a swab made at least 48 hours before, which becomes more and more usable and concrete, making us begin to breathe a little bit of summertime.