Giuseppe Conte's comments to Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper came as the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in the country continued to fall.

Other European governments are also considering whether to ease restrictions over the upcoming holiday period.

Germany's tourism commissioner, Thomas Bareiss, told Der Tagesspiegel newspaper earlier this week that if the outbreak stayed under control, people might be able to take foreign breaks "in the next four to eight weeks".

He said destinations would mainly be neighbouring countries but added: "I would not yet write off other regions in Europe, such as the Balearic Islands or the Greek islands."

Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis has told the BBC his country plans to open up gradually to visitors. He said that travelling by road "will be safer initially than flying and we'll see that kind of tourism earlier".

French President Emmanuel Macron, however, has sounded a note of caution. He told reporters it was "too soon to say whether we can take holidays" but it would become clear by the start of June.