The 2022 Italy event

During the weekend of May 20-22, the Italy Event was here again! This event has been the largest Italian event in the Benelux for almost 20 years. The location is also fantastic: it is held in the castle gardens of Castle de Haar! Sonja visited this event with her partner on Saturday, May 21 and she would love to tell you about it!

Very popular

This was the first year since Corona that there were no special rules and measures surrounding the event. Fine! But that did mean it was “pleasantly crowded” at the Italy Event. We were able to park the car in a meadow near the castle. That all went smoothly. But then we saw the line to get in. It was really huge! It took us 40 minutes to enter the grounds, despite tickets previously purchased online. Maybe it was because of our arrival time (around noon). Getting in earlier or later is recommended, I think.

Well spread out

When we saw the line to get in, we did get a little nervous. So all these people would be walking around the grounds along with the people who were already there. Quite a line had formed behind us as well, so we feared big crowds. This was actually our first big event since Corona, so we’re not really used to large groups of people anymore. But, the castle grounds are so big, you don’t really notice the crowds at all. Yes, the first booths were busy, but further on you could actually look around at your leisure. Perfectly doable!

Italian products

My friend had not been to the Italy Event before, so he didn’t really know what to expect. Maybe that’s why he missed the vacation offerings towards the different Italian regions as well. But the Italy Event is mostly about good food and drink. Taste & Style was therefore the theme! And there are plenty of stalls of that! You can taste wine and limoncello, try snacks and enjoy delicious Italian live music. There are sometimes even musicians walking among the crowd, paying odes to different people. Super fun! And there were stalls selling clothes, bags, shoes, you name it!

Beautiful cars

Yes, with Italy comes beautiful cars. Since the Italy Event is sponsored by several car brands, you will find them on the grounds as well. If you go to the event with children, this is a fun part. We did not see very many activities for children this year. There was the possibility to have glitter figures painted on your face, there was an air cushion in the shape of a castle and in the water there were these big balls in which children could play. By the way, there were a lot of kids running around the grounds, so maybe we missed it.

Tasty Italian lunch

Of course, you can’t visit the Italy Event without having a tasty Italian lunch. We chose pizza, but there are plenty of other options. Tasty sandwiches, anti pasti dishes, pastas you name it! Everything was possible. Nice glass of vino with it and your lunch is complete.

Credits photos: OpstapmetLisa

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