Tulip field brings colour and joy amid partial lockdown

Old and young visitors are taking advantage of this pick your own field to stroll among the alleys of tulips in the town of Arese, just a few kilometres from Milan.

Last year, the tulip field never opened, as COVID-19 first broke out only a couple of weeks before the season in this very region.

Back then clients were able to purchase the flowers online, but this year has a different feel.

"So we are happy this year at least we could open, even though still there is the rules here in Italy that at the moment you cannot go out of your commune (town), at the beginning we were in red zone which was quite strict, now we are in orange and actually it is a little bit disputable if you can come or not, " explains Edwin Koeman, co-owner of Tulipani Italiani.

While it is currently not permitted to leave your town in Italy, some exceptions exist: you are, for example, allowed to leave to get more convenient groceries in a nearby town, or to reach a plant nursery not available where you live.

"If clients ask us, can we come to your field from another commune (town) we say it is interpretable and disputable, it depends on how you interpret the rules, it's also why the police couldn't give us a clear answer, so we say it is your risk, it depends on the police officer who controls you," says Koeman.

For visitor Simona Rendina, there are no doubts to be had: "The tulip field is here, so from Milan we came to Arese to pick tulips, it's as simple as that, you can pick tulips here in Arese," she says.

Precautions have been put in place to ensure proper social distancing.

Visitors can buy tickets for two-hour access and only 300 people can enter the field at a time.

While it makes the crowds easier to manage, the total number of people that can come per day amounts to only 1,500.

On busy days in previous years the field has greeted up to 9,000 people and an average of 5,000 people per day.

"It's a big loss compared to how it would be but I can also understand, people don't want to see big lines now, big crowds, that's not the time for it. And it works out ok for us like this," says Koeman.

The entrance ticket, which can be bought online, costs 4 euros. The price includes 2 tulips.

Every additional tulip visitors pick costs 1 euro - down from 1.5 euro in previous years, making it more affordable than before to go home with a bouquet full of tulips.

"It's an opportunity and as you can see we have a big field, and we limit (the number) of people who can enter the field so with that situation if I'm honest you don't have to fear about being crowded, because as you can see we have space and with the preparations, with the knowledge from last year it is not the same. Last year it was completely different, everybody was shocked, didn't know what to do, but now everyone is aware how to prevent themselves from this COVID, so it's a completely different situation from last year," says Nitsuje Wolanios, co-owner of Tulipani Italiani.

Wolanios is originally from Ethiopia and says she trying to keep her mind off the atrocities being suffered by the Tigrayan ethnicity back home.

She says the field is a getaway for her, like for many people who have had a difficult year.

"Some people can come and go out of their house, I can imagine the feeling, I am always here, I can feel for those that have to stay at home, especially when you have kids, and the kids cannot be confined in the house, so yeah it's a little bit of a getaway for the families, I know," she says.

Camille Juras from Milan is sharing a bit of nature with her son.

"It's beautiful, it's very beautiful, being connected to nature and beginning to come out of your house again, and that connection with nature is very nice, it's also something we wanted to show our child, but even for us adults it is something we love," she says.

Andrea Pinto, also from Milan is here with his girlfriend.

"It's a nice initiative, it helps us think of normal times a little, and we also really wanted some colour, to live a little of spring, and begin to go back to normal life," he says.

Anna Maria Picasso, a 79-year-old grandmother is spending the day in the company of her children and grandchildren. She received the vaccine just a few days ago but says she already feels safer.

"Apart from the fact that I have always worn a mask obviously it reassures me, although it hasn't been many days since I got it, but I think it is already somewhat effective."

A total of 450 varieties of tulips distributed over two hectares of land are ready to be picked.

Wolanios says each and every tulip will bring a little bit of joy.

"I think I like everything, every tulip has its own beauty, I like the pappagallo, it's a little bit different and also I like the dark purple tulips, I just can't say this one specifically, somehow it's like your children, you love everything."