hazel1

My favorite place in Florence was GROM, near the Duomo, and my favorite in Rome is Frigidarium, on Via Governo Vecchio near Piazza Navona. Yum, yum!

Woody

Rome: Giolitti
Venice: Gelateria Lo Squero

Woody

LOTRHP

What fantastic stuff! Thanks so much for taking the time to weigh in on the best gelato.

windycity847

In Venice, check out Gelateria Enoteca Majer, Spigola sr1, San Polo 2307 Venezia. Phone number 041.722873. Tried two great flavors, Chocobiscotto and the best of the two, Bignolina! Server did not speak English so I think first one might be chocolate biscotto and not sure about the second but it tasted great. Person I was with tried both and ordered the second one.

Grandot

Just to add my two cents, my favorite in Rome is San Crispino, without comparison.
In Florence, Vivoli took my vote, with Carabe coming in there, too. GROM was recommended, but we never got there.

tomassocroccante

I also vote San Crispino in Roma. But my Roman friends don't list any of the popular favorites among tourists as their primo gelato. They name one found in their neighborhood just outside the Vatican walls (may have other Rome locations, too) = can't recall it now but will email them for it and report back!

tomassocroccante

<<Cafe Gilli in Piazza Repubblica. It is right across from the Hotel Savoy. I once sat next to Catherine Deneuve at Gilli. >>

That would move any place up a few notches on any list!

julia_t

In Venice, Fantasy Gelato on Calle dei Fabbri close to Piazza San Marco.

Quiz

Rome San Crispino
Florence Vivoli
Those were my favorite 2 after eating Gelato twice a day for 3 weeks.
At Vivoli I had dark chocolate with orange it was great.

Girlspytravel

There are two gelateria in Rome I like, the first one I can't tell you the name-it is located on the Via Serpenti, just down the street from the Colisseum, inexpensive and excellent gelato. The other one is right before the bridge leading into the Vatican, called OLD BRIDGE gelateria, I believe it's located on via Bastioni di Michaelangelo-right on the corner-it's got a pink neon type of sign-not a chain gelateria, (I don't care for the Blue Ice chain of gelateria in Rome, btw) but they had all KINDS of artisanal house-made flavors, and the blackberry gelato (my standard flavor) was excellent-not too expensive either, considering how close it is to the Vatican. However, THE ice cream parlour/pastry shop in Rome has to be GIOLITTI'S-a family run operation near the Pantheon, which has all kinds of exotic flavors of gelato, like champagne, and "riso" gelato-very popular with tourists and Romans alike, it's located on via Uffici del Vicario. You can see all their exotic flavors listed here on their website, including my very favorite, pink grapefruit, but this place is quite a bit more expensive than your smaller gelateria, for obvious reasons of location and the fact that it is a tourist destination:

http://www.giolitti.it/pro-e.html


Florence is generally considered to have the best gelateria in Italy, I think, and VIVOLI, near Santa Croce, generally comes up #1, however, there are MANY gelateria in this city that are excellent; it's difficult to find one that is mediocre. Another quite popular gelateria is DEI NERI, near Piazza della Signoria, on the via dei Neri, but my favorite in Florence is gelateria CARABE-run by a Sicilian couple-(their fresh Sicilian lemon granita is fantastic). Also, if you are near Piazza Santa Maria Novella, near the train station, there is an excellent artisanal gelateria on the Piazza just on the far corner away from the church, but I don't know its name-it is apparently listed in some guidebooks, which I saw on the wall, but I went here a couple of times last August 2006, and was quite taken with the quality of the gelato and inexpensive pricing.

As for Venice, my favorite gelateria, bar none, is Gelateria CA'D'ORO, on the Strada Nova, just down from the Ca' d'Oro vaporetto stop. Also on the Strada Nova, but towards the train station, is "Il GELATONE"- not quite as good, but very popular nonetheless. Gelateria DA NICO, which you can find on the Zattere (the waterfront area of Dorsoduro), and also in Dorsoduro and San Polo, the "DEL DOGE" gelateria (Campo Santa Marguerita) is very good, and "Il Doge Due" (near the Frari church) is another one I can recommend. In San Marco, on the calle dei Fabbri (the large street connecting San Marco and Rialto bridge) there is "GELATO FANTASY" which I tried and found quite acceptable, however I stick primarily to gelateria on the Strada Nova in Cannaregio, and also in Dorsoduro, the ones mentioned above.

LOTRHP

Wow! Wow! Wow!
You guys are fabulous! I can't thank you enough! This has been so incredibly helpful.
After all, we all know gelato eating is very serious business, yummy!

Curious if you might know this gelateria place that was recommended to me. The person knew where the place was but not the name of it....
"...The gelato stand and little pizza joint I liked was just up the road from the scuolo san Rocco"

Any idea which one that is?

Zerlina

This sounds like the place:

Tarcisio Carolo
(gelato and pizza to take out)
3033, San Polo
30125 Venezia (VE)
t. 041 5244667

If you stand in front of the facade the Scuola Grande di San Rocco and turn right, it's in the small street that leads out of the campo.

Personally, I would have my doubts about a place that offered both gelato and pizza and would prefer to go to a specialized gelateria.

The_Judge

The great gelato place near San Roch(don't know its name)was on the calle as you went from San Roch along the back of the Frari in order to go into the Frari(if you are IFO San Roch facing it, go to the left)-it has pizza on the right side & great gelato on the left-the day we were there last October, a local high school had just let out & the kids flocked to this place-there are no stores across from it, just the rear of Frari.

in Rome-San Crispino is it

but in Firenze & in my humble opinion, for the world, it is Vivoli & the RISO flavor-heaven on earth, it can be best described as frozen rice pudding but better. Good luck

tomassocroccante

OK, my Roman friends tell me the best is GELATERIA DUSE (best known as GIOVANNI)in Via Eleonora Duse (PARIOLI
neighborhood, the same of American ambassador's residence).

Parioli is north of the Pinciano (Borghese) and east of Flaminio (neighborhood north of pza del Popolo). It's outside tourist central, to be sure, but there are good hotels and things to see as well: the parco della sport venues and the wonderful new concert halls are in Flaminio. And it's really not far at all to sites in the northern half of the centro storico.

Worth a trip for the gelato? I don't know.

tomassocroccante

There is more than one good list on slowtravel.com - here's one of them:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restau...to_grinisa.htm

The writer mentions Ciampini on Via Trinita dei Monti, a hundred meters or so from the top of the Spanish Steps. A lovely and quiet outdoor cafe is one of the attractions. Gelato is one of their treats, also little lunch items and deserts. And Morganti coffee, a Roman brand you can't go wrong with. Ciampini is a little oasis on a hot or cold day (they have inside space as well), quiet and pleasant and feels far from the hubub nearby. There are also some nice views walking along the road there.

tomassocroccante

also found this nice piece on inromenow.com (one of my favorite little Rome websites, with listings every week for current entertainment)

http://www.inromenow.com/site%20temp...oodGelato.html

tomassocroccante

Finally, adding this from inromenow.com

"Marco Polo brought the idea back from China. And in Sicily, gelato makers learned their trade from the Arabs. In 1533, when Caterina de’ Medici married Henri d’Orléans, she took her cooks along to Paris. Her gelato maker, a former Tuscan chicken farmer named Ruggeri, became so famous he was beaten and robbed by jealous French chefs. He left his gelato recipe in a sealed envelope along with his resignation letter and fled back home to his chickens. But the recipe spread throughout Europe and the world."