Bologna, May 18-19: The Fifth Edition
Bologna, May 18-19, 2026. The fifth edition of Cloud Native Days Italy is behind us, and I’m still riding the wave of energy it left behind.
Writing this post as one of the organizers feels different from a regular conference recap. Seeing something you worked on for months actually land — with real people in real rooms — is hard to describe briefly. If you want to read how the journey to this edition started, I covered it in an earlier post.
This year we delivered two full conference days, with two parallel tracks running across both of them:
- Day 1 (May 18): 20 sessions, sponsor area, coffee breaks, lunch, and a well-deserved aperitivo to close the evening
- Day 2 (May 19): 20 sessions, 4 workshops, sponsor area, community area, coffee breaks, and lunch
Forty sessions in total, four workshops, two rooms running in parallel, and on the second day a community area that buzzed with conversations and side exchanges.
Day Two Was Special
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the second day without hesitation.
Day 2 felt like the event at full speed. The workshops gave people hands-on time with real tools on real problems. The community area was alive with side conversations, project discussions, and impromptu exchanges you simply can’t plan for. The rooms had real energy — people talking, debating, comparing notes.
You can feel when a room is engaged. Day 2 had that. People weren’t just watching slides; they were asking hard questions and sharing war stories with others who had faced the same problems.
Thank You: Speakers
None of this happens without the people on stage.
To every speaker who submitted a proposal, prepared a talk or workshop, traveled to Bologna, and stood up in front of the room: thank you. The line-up this year was strong — topics ranged from platform engineering and observability to security, AI on Kubernetes, and open source project updates.
The full speaker roster is on the event website. What I can say is that the sessions are what people take home, and that credit belongs entirely to you.
Thank You: The Four MCs
Running a two-track conference isn’t just about having a good schedule. You need people who can hold a room, keep the energy up, and handle whatever gets thrown at them without it showing.
Our four MCs did exactly that. Their passion was clear from the first session, and the way they managed each room made things run smoothly for both speakers and attendees. When an MC does the job well, nobody notices — that’s the whole point. Ours nailed it.
Thank You: Sponsors
No sponsors, no event. Simple as that. They covered the venue, the logistics, the catering, and everything in between, and they deserve proper credit for it.
To every company that backed this edition: thank you. You’re investing in a community, not just a conference, and that matters.
This year’s sponsor roster, by tier:
| Tier | Sponsors |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Platinum (first ever!) | Spectro Cloud |
| 🥈 Gold | Aruba Cloud, Docker, EDB, SentinelOne, Tigera |
| 🥉 Silver | Reply Adeptic |
| 💡 Smart | CNCF |
| 🌟 Main Sponsor | Clastix, Desotech, ReeVo, Seacom, SparkFabrik |
The Networking That Makes It Worth It
Every time I attend one of these events, the corridor conversations end up being as valuable as the sessions.
Even with an organizer’s schedule — constantly pulled somewhere — I still found myself in chats that will make a real difference in my day-to-day work. That’s the thing about this community: someone in that room has already solved the problem you’ll face in six months. You just have to find them.
Thanks to everyone who stopped to say hello. Those moments are what make the whole thing worth it.
The Organizing Team
Last, and most importantly: my fellow organizers.
We spent months on calls, in group chats, and in shared documents to make this happen. Late evenings, last-minute decisions, things that almost didn’t work and then did. Seeing it all come together in Bologna was something I won’t forget easily.
I’m proud of what we built.
And yes: I cannot wait to do it all over again. Hopefully as part of the 2027 team too.
Save the Date: 20 May 2027
Next year is already in the works. Mark your calendar:
☁️ Cloud Native Days Italy 2027: Bologna, 20 May 2027
More details will follow in the coming months. In the meantime, join the Telegram channel to stay in the loop.
See you in Bologna. 🇮🇹
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