Gelato – Stories, Traditions & More

(This is part of our series of posts from our six-week Road Scholar Independent Living and Learning in Florence trip to Italy in Spring 2025. We have an index to all the posts from that trip here.)

After morning language class and lunch at home, David returned to the school for a presentation on gelato by one of the teachers. Gelato–invented right here in Florence–is almost as important to the culture as pasta and wine. As the locals say, “it’s always time for gelato!”

We learned about the history of gelato, how it’s made, and how to distinguish “tourist gelato” from the good stuff. (And yes, there is a huge difference.) Because this was a school program, rather than one through Road Scholar, it was entirely in Italian. Here, Francesca is teaching us some of the “words of the gelateria”.

It’s important to know the difference between crema, sorbetto, ghiacciolo, mousse, granita, tartufo and affogato!

Some of the many, many flavors of gelato. These are some of the fruit flavors. Good fruit gelato is made only with in-season fruit, and gets its color from the fruit itself–never from artificial colorings!

How to order a gelato…a conversation at the gelateria. Of course, after four weeks in Florence, we already had this down!