You go to Italy for the culture, history, and landmarks. You stay for the gelato. In fact, the gelato makes you want to never leave. There are so many reasons to go to Italy, so many things to experience and see. But perhaps the most important thing to do in Italy is to eat gelato. Lots of gelato.
If you’re going to Rome as our family did, you definitely have to see the Colosseum. It’s an awesome experience, one that you never forget. But for someone that loves history as much as I do, and for as long as I dreamed about visiting Rome, and it pains me to say this, but you can only visit the Colosseum so many times. You can only gaze up at the miraculous oculus of the Pantheon so many times and there’s only so many times that you can sit on the Spanish Steps. Well, actually you can’t do that anymore, but if you could there’s only so many times you can do that. But gelato, now that’s the gift that keeps on giving. It never stops giving you life. The joy never runs out.
For as much as Rome is known for and it is known as an open-air museum, the one thing that will leave a lasting impression is gelato. The thing that you’ll wish you had more of is not necessarily one more stroll through the Colosseum, one more trip up and down the Spanish Steps, it’s going to be one more gelato.
It’s possibly because of the treat itself, which is marvelous. There are just so many flavors. A seemingly infinite variety and then when combined with two or three different flavors per cone (or cup) the combinations become exponential. The spectrum runs from the fruitiest of lemon, mango, and banana to the enticing indulgence of salted caramel, pistachio, Nutella, and everything in between.
It’s a frosty, tasty miracle dropped into a perfectly crunchy cone, just waiting for you to experience its goodness. It’s pretty difficult to have a bad day if you’re having gelato.
There are so many articles about which are the best gelaterias in Rome and there is probably a science to it that I’ve yet to master given that I’ve only been to Italy twice. I’m sure the writers of those articles have far more experience in the matter and are borderline connoisseurs (I’m more than a little envious at the thought) but in my inexperience, I’ll say that gelato is sorta like pizza. Even bad gelato is good gelato. And there is no such thing as bad gelato. Or something like that.
But perhaps what makes gelato so great is when you enjoy it while in Rome or any part of Italy for that matter. It’s hard to divorce the taste of such a delicious treat with the other senses that are in use while you enjoy it. It’s impossible to separate it from the experience. And there are few greater experiences than Rome.
The good thing about vacation is that all dietary concerns go out the window unless of course, they’re necessary for your well being. You can’t really enjoy Italy from a hospital bed. And I’m not sure if their hospitals serve gelato, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. But you don’t want to risk that.
The plan is to experience the exquisite joy of having gelato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The happiness kind of builds on itself. As soon as you finish one, the anticipation quickly begins to build for the next. And guess what, the next one is not too far away. With such a full gelato itinerary, you’re better able to compare flavors and find out which one you like most. You can easily work the combos and adjust to the perfect gelato flavor combo. Waiting something close to 24 hours for your next gelato would spoil that point of reference and weaker the scientific integrity of the comparison. Can’t have that.
The best reason to have gelato three times in one day is that it’s just so good. So while you are in Italy, enjoy gelato as much as you can. You’ve made it this far there’s no halfway doing it at this point. Go for the triple crown and have gelato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, on the same day. Go big or go home! All of that gelato isn’t going to eat itself. You won’t regret it, I know I didn’t.