May was pictured strolling through the streets of Desenzano del Garda, a town on the southern shore of the picturesque Lake Garda.

She left London on Monday to spend five days in northern Italy, and will spend a further two weeks in the Swiss Alps after briefly interrupting her break to attend a memorial service.

During her last break, a walking holiday in Wales in April, May made the ill-fated decision to call a snap national election. The gamble resulted in her losing her parliamentary majority and weakened her authority.

Asked in a radio interview last week what people should expect when she returned from this holiday, May joked: "You'll just have to wait and see ... But I think there are many people who are grateful I'm going to the Alps and not to Wales again."