Italians start travelling again, in time for the holidays in Italy. Here are four great destinations to use Italian government vacation vouchers

Italy’s holiday bonus is one of the measures in the country’s “Relaunch Decree”, an incentive scheme for the tourism industry during this rather different summer that also helps Italians afford to take their long-awaited holidays this year. 

The facility is available to households with valid standard, current annual ISEE earnings of not more than €40,000. Applications and payment are exclusively online. To sign up, Italians must install and access the “IO, the public services app”, available free of charge from PagoPA Spa. To use the voucher, after booking Italian visitors are asked for their unique voucher code and tax code number. Italy's holiday bonus can be used until 31 December 2020.

All that’s left is to choose where to go! The Mountains, the seaside, a city or the countryside? If you’re looking for ideas about where to spend your holiday bonus, here are our suggestions.

Taormina.

Thanks to its enchanting position overlooking the sea, a stunning landscape and vast historical, cultural and archaeological heritage, Taormina is one of Sicily’s most famous tourist destinations. A place of great charm and beauty, over the years it has seduced poets and writers, attracted illustrious travellers and welcomed internationally-renowned celebrities. Taormina has a host of special goodies you absolutely must not miss: 

• The Ancient Theatre of Taormina: together with the Ancient Greek Theatre in Syracuse, one of the largest Greek amphitheatres in the entire region, Taormina’s ancient theatre bears magnificent witness to Ancient Sicily, dating back to the 3rd century BC. The theatre offers magnificent views of Mount Etna behind it. 

• The Villa Comunale: rich in floral and arboreal beauty, the Town Park is a pleasant oasis of calm hidden away in the city centre and planted with different varieties of trees and flowers. An ideal spot for a stroll and to seek out some cooler air, the gardens offer wonderful views along the coast.

• Corvaja Palace: characterized by a variety of architectural styles left behind by the various conquerors who passed through here, the splendid aristocratic Corvaja Palace lies at the heart of Taormina, in the square that was once the ancient Roman forum, and before that the agora in the Ancient Greek city of Tauromenion. 
• Corso Umberto: Taormina’s main street is lined by workshops, fashion and souvenir stores, delicatessens and cafes. 
• Mazzarò beach: last but not least, Taormina’s flagship beach, a favorite not just with the many tourists who come here in summer but of the locals too…

Where to stay in Taormina.

What better place than a cliff-top hotel overlooking the volcanic cone of Mount Etna? UNAHOTELS Capotaormina is ideal for a full immersion in this region’s beauty, offering a private beach, salt-water swimming pool and authentic Sicilian cuisine. If instead you’d rather use your time in Taormina to breathe in new aromas, we recommend a stay at UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach Sicilia, surrounded by the scents and colours of its citrus grove.

The Aeolian Islands.

The Aeolian Islands are all about dream days: sea, nature, beaches, history, culture, and of course gastronomic excellence. What better place to take advantage of your Holiday Bonus? Here’s what not to miss:

• Lipari: the largest, most-densely inhabited island is the ideal starting point for a tour of the Aeolian Islands.
• Salina: Pollara, in the municipality of Malfa, is where Massimo Troisi shot his last and most famous film, “Il Postino”. Anyone who’s seen the movie is sure to remember the pink house and beach where poet Pablo Neruda, played by actor Filippo Noiret, whiled away his hours. 

• Vulcano’s mud pit and crater: The mud pit is surrounded by small sulphurous hills from which hot geysers bubble up constantly. If you’re looking for some adventure, don’t miss out on the climb to Vulcano’s Great Crater. 

• Panarea: the smallest and oldest island in the Aeolian archipelago, full of terracing and dry stone walls...

Where to stay in the Aeolian Islands.

With its amazing seaviews, L'Ariana Isole Eolie | UNA Esperienze is the best place to experience the pure essence of the Aeolian Islands, especially the island of Salina. The hotel is the pride of the pretty village of Rinella.

Ischia.

As a tourist destination, Ischia was unknown to most Italians when in 1951 Angelo Rizzoli, publisher and film producer, arrived in Ischia on his yacht. Ever since then…

The Aragonese castle may be the island’s symbol, but it has other beauties to discover, notably the thermal gardens (the most famous is the Poseidon Thermal Gardens, in the Bay of Sorgeto, where hot water springs bubble up and mix with the seawater), and the white church of Soccorso, a favourite photographic location for tourists. 

Don’t miss the village of Sant’Angelo, entirely pedestrianized and connected to Ischia by bus only, with its white and colourful houses, narrow alleyways, souvenir shops, ice-cream parlours, restaurants and bars with outdoor tables. 

Versilia: Viareggio and Pietra Santa.

The Versilia area boasts not just a long coastline of fine sandy beaches, but the beautiful peaks of the Apuan Alps and its villages steeped in history. The Versilia scenery changes dramatically in the space of just a few kilometres. Here are two of our favorite places along the Versilia coast:

• Viareggio: the carnival town is a great place to chill on the beach. If you’d rather take a walk and breathe in some sea air, a stroll along the quayside is just what the doctor ordered. Or take a walk along the cliffs to the lighthouse, or perhaps among the moored boats, and enjoy the city’s most famous mural, which reads “Viareggio, I was born in you, and in you I hope to die”.
• Pietrasanta: this beautiful little town, an ancient waypoint on the Via Francigena, the pilgrimage route that leads to Rome, is known as the mini-Athens of Versilia, a nickname earned from its long-standing marble-working tradition that has attracted great artists from all over the world, including Botero and Mitoraj.

Where to stay in Versilia.

Refined Italian cuisine, wellness and fitness all come together at Versilia Lido | UNA Esperienze, the elegant Gruppo UNA hotel right on the coast. The Grill Restaurant offers an authentic selection of Tuscan and Tyrrhenian dishes, while the modern wellness centre features a circuit of saunas, Turkish baths and showers.