An After Dinner Gelato
Ice cream is one of those small earthly pleasures that Italy is so famous for, and you should take every chance you get to experience it.

Italians seem to have an unbreakable bond to ice cream. If there was a book titled, “The World According to Ice Cream Lovers,” the first chapter would be “A Day Without Ice Cream is a Day Lost.”

Of course, there is a lot more to life than ice cream. Life has relationships, children, joys and sorrows, work and rest, but what would life be without that creamy goodness.

So - Maybe after you’ve eaten that satisfying restaurant meal and that classical tiramisu, or crema catalana or that velvety panacotta doesn’t tempt you, finish up with an amaro or a chilled limoncello, and then go out into the seductive Italian night, listen to the pleasant chatter of the people as they take their passeggiata, and find a suitable gelateria.

If pasta is the fuel that keeps Italy moving, gelato is the elixir that nourishes its spirit. It is the universal feel- good food that transcends race, religion, politics and origin, and speaks a language that everyone, from toddlers taking their first steps, to centenarians nearing their last, understands. Whether you eat it cupped or coned, it is one of those undeniable Italian pleasures, and one of the few topics that everyone agrees upon. 

Some Tempting Flavors:

Vaniglia - vanilla

Cioccolato - chocolate

Fragola - strawberry

Limone - lemon

Melone - melon

Frutti di bosco - fruits of the forest

Focciola - hazelnut

Stracciatella - vanilla with chocolate pieces

Bacio -chocolate with whole hazelnuts, Nutella

Pistacchio - pistachio

And my favorite! ciliegia - cherry

If one flavor doesn't seem to be enough, because there are so many to choose from, order a scoop on the bottom, a different in the middle, and a third on top.