This is why a pilgrimage to Lake Balaton starts from Monday

After Rome, we can also taste the special Vatican ice cream on Lake Balaton, which was named Hallelujah by its inventor, an Italian ice cream master. The campaign, which also serves a charitable purpose, is expected by the Balaton Tourism Association to bring significant tourism growth to the region.

Hallelujah is the official dessert of the 2025 Jubilee Year, the creation of Vincenzo Squatrito, a Sicilian pastry chef who was awarded the Oscar for Italian artisan ice cream masters. Vincenzo has been running the family pastry shop with his twin brother since 1994, and they offer 54 types of ice cream to their guests every year. The current Vatican sweet, a special combination of roasted hazelnuts and chocolate, will be available in the Vatican, near St. Peter’s Square, from March 23rd, and from March 24th in more than 250 cities in Europe, including Lake Balaton. In Hungary, the Promenád Café in Balatongyörök, the winner of last year’s Balaton Fagyija, was the first to join the campaign. At them, every second scoop of the first jar serves a charitable purpose, and the proceeds from this were donated to the local church.

“The Florida ice cream parlor in Balatonmáriafürdő also joined the campaign from the region, so there will be a pastry shop on both the southern and northern shores where tourists seeking spiritual and gastronomic experiences can taste the Vatican ice cream,”

– said Tamás Fekete, president of the Balaton Tourism Association.