Like every year, for the last 26 years, Il Circolo, a small and lively Italian charity active in London, organized its “Italian Christmas Market” in the traditional venue of the Chelsea Old Town Hall, in the middle of glittering King’s Road. The Christmas market is the most important event, in terms of fundraising, of the extensive calendar of cultural and non-cultural activities organized by Il Circolo. Here is our chairman, Simona Spreafico.
The proliferation of Christmas markets and the difficulties for small artisans coming from Italy, once the backbone of the event, in managing the new customs rules have inevitably led the organizers to propose a new format. Since last year, most of the exhibitors, despite presenting quality Italian products, are companies operating in the English market. This year, Il Circolo concentrated the event on a single day (Sunday, 10 December), close to Christmas, offering a significant panorama of Italian products, food and more to an audience looking for high-end gifts, from clothing to footwear to jewellery, but also tasty ones, with a wide range of Italian gastronomic products typical of the Christmas period.
This year, too, the event enjoyed the support of prestigious sponsors, including Campari, Giancarlo Polenghi and Parmacotto, which made it possible, among other things, to close the day with an ”Italian aperitif” with the unmissable Spritz and other Italian delicacies.
During the evening, an auction, run by Lorenzo Tamburini, collaborator of CinemaItaliaUK and Ornella Tarantola of Italian Books, took place with bids on two lots donated by Filippo Gregoretti (a painting created with AI and presented during the Annual General Meeting de Il Circolo in October) and by the Melpignano family (a stay at the exclusive Masseria San Domenico in Puglia). Both lots met the approval of the audience, going for amounts well in excess of the initial estimate. The Christmas Market is, above all, the annual showcase of Il Circolo and its dual activity of supporting and promoting Italian culture in London and providing, through the funds raised, contributions and scholarships to deserving students. Il Circolo, in over 25 years of activity, has already donated over half a million pounds. The flagship activity for the last two years has been the very successful ”Match POiNT” literary competition which rewards unpublished stories in Italian written by residents of the United Kingdom.
The market was inaugurated by Mrs Maria Grazia Lambertini, patron of Il Circolo and wife of the Italian Ambassador to Great Britain, Inigo Lambertini. Consul General Domenico Bellantone attended the aperitif in the evening. Comites (Comitati Italiani all’Estero) London branch also participated, providing information on its range of activities supporting Italians in London.
The turnout and the first ”exit polls” have shown the public’s constant appreciation for the event. Will we still see the friendly Santa Claus, designed by Riccardo Guasco and now a symbol of the Italian Christmas Market, at the Chelsea Old Town Hall in 2024? Keep following the brand-new Il Circolo website, and you will find out soon enough! Merry (Italian) Christmas everyone!