Gelato Therapy

The plan was to be sat here writing a blog post having just got an exam out of the way.
Oh how naive of me to think that planning was something that people do here.

I ran to my exam venue this morning, a touch late, to discover that the exam had been moved to this time next Monday. To add insult to injury, just as I was rushing into the building, someone told me that my bag was wide open; I had been running like a lunatic down Bologna with my bag gaping open behind me (cheers to the 20 or so people I ran past who opted not to say anything). Truly truly, what balls. Che Palle. I will have you know that for the last exam I had, which was for the same module, I got to the venue 5 minutes early, only to be herded off like sheep with the rest of my classmates to a different venue. The exam started 15 minutes late. And had no time limit. And I had missed the memo that it was an open-dictionary exam, so I was permitted to use my mobile phone. This is the oldest university in Europe we are talking about; you'd think they'd have learnt a thing or two about running one over the past 925 years.

Anyway, since it turns out I still have a fair bit of revising to do so I will keep this post short and sweet. Quite literally. My top three gelato places in Bologna.

Let's start from the bottom.

3. La Sorbetteria Castiglione

La Sorbetteria Castiglione is located towards the end of Via Castiglione, towards the Giardini Margherita end. 
Though a bit on the sweet side, they have a lot of nice nutty flavours; with pralines of almonds and hazelnuts, mascarpone and coffee, and gianduja flavoured ice cream with chunks of giaduiotti in them. As far as I can tell they have also started a "gusti speciali menu" which includes flavours that are sugar-free. I have personally never tried one, but I've also seen people ordering bun-like things, which are then, I assume, filled with ice cream. Like an ice cream sandwich. If you have a sweet tooth, this is a good place to start your gelato journey.

2. Cremeria Funivia

This one was recommended to me by an ice-cream fanatic and to be honest, it pretty much ties with first place. It's a bit hidden, tucked away around a corner just opposite Piazza Cavour. Now, I am (officially) one of the most indecisive people on the planet, so it was no simple task to pick my flavours and I was slightly traumatised when I churped "Fior di Panna" out of panic, having caught the rather fed up look on the face of the lady serving me. "How boring. Should've got something else." was my initial after-thought. Until I tried it. If an ice cream shop can make their Fior di Panna as tasty as these people do theirs, they are definitely doing something right. My favourite thing from here is the affogato (ice cream popped into some freshly brewed coffee) with a scoop of Fiord di Panna or Alice, a mascarpone flavoured ice cream with a drizzle of chocolate on top.


1. Cremeria Santo Stefano

So what was the tipping point that made me crown this place number one?
Pistacchio Salato. This is my all time favourite flavour of all the gelatos I have ever had. Here, they also sell chocolate and though I am usually not one to go for chocolate flavoured cake or ice cream, theirs is worth a try.
A small, independent shop, it sits unpretentiously along Via Santo Stefano, and the people working there are always very friendly (i.e. they never pressure you to make a choice, good for indecisive people like me!) I should mention, I am currently on a no-fructose diet (N.B. diet to be taken in its original form, therefore not some weight loss fad thing), mainly for health reasons, so naturally gelato is out of the question. Since type 2 diabetes has popped up a couple of times in my family, I take coming off of the sweet stuff quite seriously... but for this pistacchio salato flavoured ice cream, well even if I was a diabetic I think I could find it in me to bend the rules a bit.

A happy bunch at Cremeria Santo Stefano

A rather impromptu post, I must admit. I had other things to write about in mind, but to keep it simple given time restraints, another review it is. On the plus side, you can now start constructing your summer gelato schedule way in advance. For once I am early!

For anyone who is interested, you can read more about why coming off of sugar is something we should all be doing here. And for those of you that think this is some sort of ploy to get you to come and visit - you are not wrong.

Ciao until next time!



Images from: 
Body in Context,
Seriouseats,
Tripadvisor