Gelato is a staple of most people's idea of Italy. One imagines children eating it while dashing around historic old piazzas and couples sharing some while walking pretty strands. It is deeply entwined with Italian culture and first appeared during banquets at the Medici court in Florence. It is said that Bernardo Buontalenti invented the ice cream for the court of Catherine de’ Medici in 1565. With a cold cream made from a base of milk, honey, and egg yolks with a splash of wine and aromatized with bergamot, lemons and oranges he wowed guests and the rest, as they say, is history.
Florence remains a great place to get gelato to this day with famous shops such as Edouardo's and Perche No! being musts. The Gelato Festival began in Florence last month and continues to travel around Italy, adding to why ice-cream lovers should find a holiday rental in Florence or in Italy and follow the delicious festival on its tour of the country this year!
Florence remains a great place to get gelato to this day with famous shops such as Edouardo's and Perche No! being musts. The Gelato Festival began in Florence last month and continues to travel around Italy, adding to why ice-cream lovers should find a holiday rental in Florence or in Italy and follow the delicious festival on its tour of the country this year!
Italian ice-cream, or gelato, has set the standard for all types of ice-creams around the world and the Gelato Festival celebrates this culinary heritage and excellence. The festival has been around since 2010, when its first edition was hosted in Florence. After huge success in its initial year, the festival was then held in Florence again in 2011 and 2012. At first, it was a very much an Italian affair, but it soon attracted the interest of international visitors, and gelato and ice cream makers worldwide. In 2013, it became a travelling event which visits Florence, Milan, Rome and Turin (three of Italy's "capitali del gusto") each year. In 2014 the festival expanded even further to become very much a national and international event, rather than the local one that it began as. This year, it began in Florence once more and moved on to Parma, is currently in Rome and will visit Naples, Turin, Milan, London, Berlin and Valencia before returning to Florence in September.
The festival intends to inform about true artisanal gelato and how it's made, to reveal its history and show production techniques first hand. The aspects which are normally behind the scenes are brought forward for all to see and enjoy.
Of course, there is also plenty of tasting involved as well as a variety of events, games and competitions. Taking place between April and September with all sorts of events, the festival is a must for sweet lovers visiting Italy throughout spring and summer, right into autumn.
If you have a sweet tooth and you are planning a trip to Tuscany, be sure to check out some of the festival's events – especially if you are going in the summer as there is nothing better than gelato on a hot day!
Of course, there is also plenty of tasting involved as well as a variety of events, games and competitions. Taking place between April and September with all sorts of events, the festival is a must for sweet lovers visiting Italy throughout spring and summer, right into autumn.
If you have a sweet tooth and you are planning a trip to Tuscany, be sure to check out some of the festival's events – especially if you are going in the summer as there is nothing better than gelato on a hot day!
