Italo de Lorenzo (1939-2025) loved ice and life. ‘When he came in, the atmosphere immediately became sunny’

It was the father of Italo de Lorenzo, who was the very first Italian in the Netherlands to open an ice cream parlor, and who immediately introduced the word ‘ice cream parlor’ into the Dutch language. The business, Venezia, was on Utrechtse Voorstraat from 1930. Italo was born in 1939, as the third child of Carlina and Guido de Lorenzo.

In 1971, Italo de Lorenzo started his ice cream parlor Venezia of the same name, together with his wife Mia on the Utrechtse Oudegracht. For more than thirty years they worked here seven days a week, from early in the morning until late in the evening. « It was not a place where you only got ice creams, » says daughter Mariangela (42). « You could get pizza points from Mario sandwich, cake from Doornekamp, ​​and there was cappuccino with whipped cream. Some customers came daily. »

In the summers, Venezia had more than a hundred seats with the terrace. In 2002 the business, Italo and Mia de Lorenzo continued to live above the old salon. A copy of that salon was built in 2021 in the Arnhem open -air museum, to the great pride of the family.

Italo was born in Utrecht, but grew up after the death of his mother in the Italian Dolomites, at two aunts. They took eight children, one or both parents died during the Second World War, under their care on a farm. Father Guido stayed behind in the Netherlands and only saw his children again after the liberation. Then he came to Italy every winter and the children visited their father in the summer in the Netherlands. « Those Italian aunts did their best and my father saw the positive thing about everything, » says daughter Romana (56). But later, when he himself had children, the Lorenzo realized that he had missed a mother in his upbringing.

In Italy, Italo de Lorenzo discovered the bobsleigh. In 1964 he became European champion, a year later he became second at the World Cup. His sports talent had consequences for his military service: he became an officer and trained the famous Alpinithe mountain infantry. When he missed the gold at the 1967 World Cup in a hundredth second, he stopped the sport. He would later work as a sports commentator for Dutch media, together with Dutch sports journalist Frans Henrichs. Together they founded the Bob and Sleebond Nederland (BSBN) in 1978, the Lorenzo of which was later appointed honorary chairman.

Love

The fact that he eventually ended up in the Netherlands was due to love. In the summers, De Lorenzo stayed with his father in Utrecht, where he helped in the case. He was not positive about that at the time. « My friends had vacation in Italy and I had to work far from my friends, » he said in an interview.

The Utrechtse Mia, daughter of a French-Dutch mother and Chinese father, had seen a Bobswleef photo of the Lorenzo in the newspaper. Her teenage heart immediately went wild and she regularly came to the ice cream parlor – not necessarily for the ice. Mia’s younger sister eventually called De Lorenzo to invite him on her birthday. He asked if she was « the girl with the glasses » (glasses is in Italian plural) that sometimes came into the case – but that was her sister Mia. The Lorenzo went to the family’s house that same evening to meet Mia. « From that moment on, the Netherlands was the most beautiful country in the world for me, » De Lorenzo told the Utrecht news site The nuk.

It was obvious that he continued his father’s case, but he did not just have a sense of duty. Daughter Romana: « He liked the work, the interaction with customers and especially that he could work here with his wife and family. »

« People always wanted to know which of his daughters made the tastiest ice cream, but he didn’t fall for it »

The couple was married for almost sixty years and had three daughters. Mariangela, the youngest daughter, is the only one who did not go ‘in the ice’. Her sister Carlina runs ice cream shop Roberto Gelato in the Poortstraat, Romana continues Venezia as IJskiosk. « People always tried to elicit an answer to the question of which of his daughters the tastiest ice made, but he did not fall for it, » says Michiel Huisinga (38), who met Italo during an introduction to the Utrecht Herensociëteit de Vereeniging and with whom he became friends.

Romana wanted to continue the ice cream shop, but in slimmed down and less labor -intensive form. « The recipes are adjusted a bit every year, but the recipes from my grandfather Guido are still the basis, » says Romana. « He had twelve flavors and thought that was fine. » Her father Italo was progressive and came up with several flavors. « He said to his father: in Italy people eat Italian every day, but the Dutch also like to eat Indian, Surinamese, Thais. » So, he thought, there had to be more variation.

Italo de Lorenzo was a social person above all. He was in several societies, was chairman of the entrepreneurs association Centrum Utrecht, and founded the association for Italian artisanal ice cream makers Ital.

He was a « man of beauty », and liked to go to museums and the opera. « Italo was a real gentleman, a charming man who loved life and generous everything shared with his environment, » says Michiel Huisinga. « The moment Italo came in somewhere, the atmosphere immediately became a lot brighter. »

Man of principles

He was also a man of principles, says his daughter Mariangela: « Love the truth and peace, » he had painted in the courtyard near his home. He thought it was important to always tell the truth and was not the person to keep your mouth shut under the guise of saving good peace.  »

In 2016, the Lorenzo lung fibrosis was established at Italo. The family was told that she had to take into account a prognosis of two weeks to a maximum of five years. There were eight, thanks to the Lorenzo’s efforts to stay vital with breathing physiotherapist and thanks to the care of his wife Mia. Mariangela: « My father was like the Rolling Stones, who also went on a farewell tour forever. »

On the funeral the guests together his favorite song: the Monty Python classic Always look on the bright side of life.

After his death, on January 2 of this year, the city carillonneur played Quel Mazzolin di Fiori On the carillon of the Dom tower.

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