On 27 October 2020 the Italian Council of Ministers approved the Law Decree no. 137/2020 on “Further urgent measures regarding health protection, support for workers and businesses, justice and safety, related to the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19” (the so-called Ristori Decree), which was published in the Official Gazette on 28 October 2020 and came into force on 29 October 2020.

The Ristori Decree sought to provide “refreshments” for the economic sectors affected, directly or indirectly, by the new series of restrictive measures imposed by Prime Ministerial Decrees of 13, 18 and 24 October 2020, to contain the worsening of the pandemic in Autumn 2020. It should be pointed out that the Decree may be subject to amendments by the Parliament at the time of its conversion into law.