From a state visit from the British royal couple to potential travel disruption for air and rail passengers and a new Italy-Spain flight route, here’s what to expect this week.

Monday

Italy’s cabinet meets over US tariffs

Cabinet ministers will meet in Rome on Monday, April 7th to discuss the potential impact of the new US tariffs on Italy’s economy, according to Ansa. 

“I decided to ask the two deputy prime ministers and the ministers of economy, industry, agriculture and European policy to meet me on Monday afternoon and present […] a report on the impact that this situation could have on our economy,” PM Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. 

The government “must now prioritise this issue,” she added. 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced new punishing tariffs on goods imported from trading partners worldwide, including 20-percent duties on EU imports. 

Meloni told her cabinet on Friday that the new US tariffs will “certainly have a significant impact” on Italy’s economy but were “of an order of magnitude we can manage”.

The US market represents around 10 percent of Italy’s exports, according to official government data.

UK’s King Charles and Queen Camilla begin state visit to Italy

The UK’s King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Rome on Monday, April 7th as part of a planned four-day state visit to Italy. 

The UK royals are set to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and PM Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday, April 9th.

Following the meetings, Charles will deliver a speech in front of both houses of the Italian parliament. This will make him the first monarch in British history to address a joint parliamentary session in Italy.

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Charles and Camilla are then expected to head to Ravenna, in Italy’s northeastern Emilia Romagna region, on Thursday, April 10th to attend an official ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the city’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Allied Forces.

The monarchs’ trip to Italy was originally meant to include a meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday, April 8th. This was postponed in late March following medical advice from the pontiff’s doctors.

Tuesday

Milan Furniture Fair

The Milan Furniture Fair – a yearly benchmark event for the home design sector – will run from Tuesday, April 8th to Sunday, April 13th at the Rho Fiera complex, northwest of the city centre.

Currently in its 62nd edition, the exhibition will display the latest designs of leading national and international furniture companies, attracting hundreds of industry operators and experts from around the world. 

Access to the fair will be limited to industry professionals from April 8th to April 11th, but will be open to all on April 12th and April 13th. Tickets can be purchased here.

Fuorisalone – a series of smaller shows, events and parties held across the northern city – will run parallel to the main furniture fair.

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Wednesday

EasyJet flight attendant strike

Italy-based flight attendants working for British budget airline EasyJet plan to take part in a four-hour strike on Wednesday, April 9th.

The protest, which is expected to start at 10.30am and end at 2.30pm, was called by unions FILT-CGIL, FIT-CISL and UIL after negotiations with EasyJet over the improvement of current work contract arrangements fell through.

EasyJet’s proposals “have remained insufficient and do not meet the concrete needs of the workers,” unions said in a statement.

Scheduled EasyJet services headed to or departing from Italian airports may experience delays or cancellations as a result of the strike.

Friday

National rail strike

Train passengers in Italy may face delays or cancellations on April 11th and 12th, as staff at rail operators Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper, Trenord and Italo plan to take part in a 23-hour strike.

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The walkout, which is set to start at 3am on Friday, April 11th and end at 2am on Saturday, April 12th, is expected to affect both regional and long-distance trains.

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, the owner of Italy’s railway network, said in a statement last week that the strike “may result in disruption to service even before its start and after its end”.

READ ALSO: Can I get a refund in Italy if my train is cancelled because of strikes?

Under Italian transport laws, all involved rail operators will be required to provide a minimum level of service for passengers during the strike.

Further details on guaranteed services (servizi garantiti) are expected to become available closer to April 11th.

Saturday

Volotea launches new Italy-Spain route 

Spanish budget airline Volotea will launch new direct flights between Palermo, Sicily, and Bilbao, Spain, from Saturday, April 12th.

READ ALSO: LISTED: The new flights to and from Italy in spring 2025

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The new service will operate twice weekly (on Tuesdays and Saturdays) offering over 20,500 seats across 114 flights every year.

The upcoming Volotea route will make Bilbao the fifth Spanish city with direct flights from Palermo, joining connections to Barcelona (Ryanair and Vueling), Madrid (Iberia and Ryanair), Palma de Mallorca (EasyJet) and Valencia (Ryanair).