Dennis

I know that this is going to cause a firestorm of controversy, but I wanted to ask peoples' opinions for the best gelato in Rome and Florence.

Bob

If you are in Rome or Florence it does not matter...it is all good!

dena

Hi Dennis. I'm not sure if this will help you since I don't remember the name of the gelato shop, but in Rome it was not far from the Trevi Fountain, down a side street nearby. The shop was very popular, I remember finding it on a map I had. They had a million flavors and my kids loved it. We had gelato in every stop in Italy and this is the only place that stands out in my memory. (We were there in 1998, so it has been a while.)If anyone knows the name of the Gelatoria, please remind me. Good luck!

Jon and Lisa

Dennis<BR><BR>After several trips to both Rome and Florence, my wife and I have two spots we love. While the names escape us, the Rome location is off the Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon) If you are facing the Pantheon, the little stree is at your 11 o'clock position. The gelato shop is less than 20 yards up and on your right. In Florence, th e choice is easy, Vivoli. It is located close to the Piazza Santa Croce on via Isola della Stinche. <BR><BR>Ciao

Vita

I think the gelato place by Trevi Fountain that Bob is thinking of is San Crispino. I agree. They have interesting flavors. <BR><BR>Personally, I like the gelato that you could buy in cups at some of the stores and stands. My favorite flavor was something like coffee and cream with whiskey. Also try gelato topped with your favorite liqueur or espresso. There's a restaurant across from the Colosseum that sells it. Can't remember the name off hand, but it has international flags across the front. I wasn't crazy about my lunch but the gelato with espresso was great.<BR><BR>I think the gelato sold at the stands in Rome rates the lowest. It's not bad by any means, just not the best.

anne

Have you tried an "affogato" yet? <BR>It's ice cream "drowned" in hot coffee - fabulous!

Marilyn

We liked the gilato at a cafe on the Piazza Navona. I really don't know the relative quality, but it is such a great place to sit, rest your feet, watch the crowds and enjoy the fountains.

metoo

in florence--called Vivoli, I think (it's the one that gets written up in all the guidebbooks as a classic, and for once they're all right!)Excellent flavors, and a great looking little old fashioned store on a quiet cobblestone street-what more can you ask for!

Capo

Rome Bites. No, that's not my opinion; it's just the clever name of the website below. :~)<BR><BR>In addition to some restaurants and markets, it lists five contenders in Rome's "Gelato Wars." Vita mentioned one of them, San Crispino; others here have repeatedly mentioned I Tri Scalini (Piazza Navona), and we had gelato every day (at least once, if not twice) at Giolitti, near the Pantheon, and really loved it. <BR><BR>I also saw a Travel Channel show on Rome recently and they mentioned the place *they* thought had Rome's best gelato, but I forget the name (although I think they said is was owned/run by a Sicilian family.) <BR><BR>Anyway, here's the five contenders...<BR><BR>http://www.otc-uk.com/features/featuresRomeBites.asp <BR>

sandi

My favorite was in Piazza Nvona as well. I can't remember the name unfortunately, but they had the best coconut gelato..lots of shredded coconut, nice and chewy.

Betsy

Head straight for Della Palme for gelato in Rome. If you're at the front of the Pantheon, facing away from it, walk a short distance down the street that's at about the one o'clock position. Much better than the much touted Giolitti's. Have a maron glace for me. And a limone. And a pistachio. And a.....

Ian

In Florence there is no doubt at all which is the best - AND IT IS NOT VIVOLI. You must get outside of the ring road (Viali Circonvalazioni) and take the road to the stadium (Stadio) and look for BADIANI where normally you will find only Florentines, roughly 50 varieties of ice cream, sorbets etc as welll as one of the best varieties you will ever find - BUONTALENTI. Many in Florence try to copy this but they have the original recipe and hang on to it like those at Coca Cola. Good licking !

amy

To us the controversy is not Rome vs. Florence. Sorry, no contest. The lowest Florence gelato ranks with Rome's Giolitti. In Florence, one must compare apples with apples, flavor to flavor, in order to rank your gelateria. My husband's favorite flavors were at Vivoli; for my daughters and me, we found excellent results at Perche No and others. It is your responsibilty in Florence to research this topic. I am proud to say that we tried our best to do museum, gelato, museum, gelato, museum, gelato...

Sue

I'm not too much into the best gelato but rather the best combination of gelato as you *have* to get two scoops. I tend to combine a fruit with a chocolate. I still haven't found the ideal so I have much more research to do!

jj

Another vote for Giolotti's in Rome. We didn't have any gelato that wasn't good in Italy! However, some were noticeably better than others. <BR>I was not a big fan of Vivoli's in Florence, which I know some people think is the best. But for me, it ranked way down the list compared to some of the other places we tried. Mostly, though, eat gelato to your heart's content; you can't go wrong!

xxx

Agreeing with Bob & jj: in Italy all gelato is good!

Sherry

The place in Rome near the Trevi Fountain is called Blue Ice, many italians told us to geo there. They have other locations as well.

Bob

Dennis --<BR><BR>Florence: Festival del Gelato – Via del Corso, 75; another great one is up Via Martelli from Baptistry, on right hand side<BR><BR>Rome: Da Quinto Gelateria - it is on a street that runs into Piazza Navona - search for it and enjoy a banana split -if there are no crowds there when you get there, wait till you see the crowds form when they see you eating your treat!!<BR><BR>Bob

geno

the best gelato in rome is cafe Cecere<BR>located at via del lavatore, 35 near the trevi fountain. across the street is her restaurant called bar Cecere which is also very nice.<BR><BR>geno

bill hunter

vivoli hands down. probably the best in the world. try the limone. memorable food experience.