Gelato!

This morning was my LAST final… and it was in Elementary Italian.  I did alright but it will be many more years of study before I’m reading Dante’s Divine Comedy in Italian.  But, all my obligations sono finiti and what better way to celebrate than GELATO!!

Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream.  It is made of milk, cream and sugar.  The process of making it is a bit different than ice cream and it gives it less fat than ice cream but more sugar.  Also, in Italy there is a whole culture of gelato and every region has flavors that they specialize in, as many of the flavors involve local fruits and nuts.  A good gelateria will make their flavors daily and so the offerings are always changing.  Today there was a beautiful pistachio, a Cuban rum, an intense dark chocolate and many different fruits that are in season right now like peach and nectarine. 

There is also a keen and wicked sense of humor in some of the varieties. 

For example, this one, Schiaffo del Papa (Spank the Pope):

There are so many amazing flavors!  The best gelateria in Viterbo is the Antica Latteria right by the Porto Verita. 

I, of course, ordered a very petite portion.....(this is actually as big as my head).  In my best Italian, "Scusi, voglio un coppo de Schiaffo del Papa con panna, per favor."  I would like a cup of spank the Pope with whipped cream.  Grazie.