A Guide to Gelato & Granita in Florence

Aug 19, 2024

Florence, gastronomically, is commonly known for massive slabs of Bistecca alla Fiorentina and bottles of tannic Chianti wine, but did you know that city absolutely rocks when it comes to gelato?

The creamy concoction called gelato, as the story goes, was invented by the 16^th-century Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti, when he was asked by Cosimo I de' Medici to make a dessert which would delight his guests.

Whereas the ancient Romans made shaved ice flavored with syrup, which perhaps is the origin of granita. Today in Rome, grattachecca kiosks selling a cousin of granita are still popular. And sorbet came to Sicily via the Arabs who utilized the snow from Mount Etna to make it.

How to discern quality gelato?

Quality gelato should taste clean, not cloying. Be sure you’re not looking for a sugar rush, and instead are looking for the clean taste of pure and natural ingredients.

Tip: Look for gelaterie with signs saying artigianale, and senza conservative.

Tip two: gelato in stainless steel containers, under lids, should indicate a quality, artisan product.

Tip three: Avoid, per l’amore di dio, the air-filled Matterhorn imitations. These horrors with glow-in-the-dark colors, attempt to lure unsuspecting tourists. They are particularly prevalent on the most touristed streets in Florence such as Via Calzaiuoli.

Now, for my list. The first two on it are the ones that really blow my socks off.

Badiani

Badiani first opened in Florence in 1932. For ages they were only out on Viale dei Mille. I remember making the trek there--albeit infrequently, in the '90s. Now they have a sleek new shop in Via Tosinghi. Smack dab center. Yay!

Their gelato is stratospheric. True artisan gelato with nothing artificial added, created under the leadership of award-winning Paolo Pomposi. Paolo is incredibly creative, inventing flavors that surprise and delight.

In 2015 he was proclaimed the best gelato maker in Europe, with his "Dolcevita" based on his signature Buontalenti flavor combined with cocoa and Piedmont hazelnut.

Speaking of the signature flavor, it will give you an idea of what that first gelato created by the 16^th century Florentine architect may have tasted like. Pretty cool huh?

One of their flavors I’m wild about, in winter, is Buontalenti Pistacchio—(the signature flavor with a layer of pistacchio paste added on top.) It’s beyond gelato—it’s beyond what you could get in Heaven. Do not pass one more minute of your life without this gelato.

They have a full coffee bar, (which most gelaterie don’t) offering speciality coffee and in the winter, hot chocolate with their iconic pistacchio sauce—Oh my! And delectable pastries and gelato cakes. A good place for sweet breakfast.

La Sorbetteria

La Sorbetteria has a mind-blowing dark chocolate sorbet called Catrame that sends me into absolute ecstasy. This dense, luscious wonder made from Peruvian chocolate is one of the reasons why I will not indulge in ice-cream when I’m in the US— or anywhere outside of Italy. I prefer to wait until I return to Florence, and can once again be in a state of bliss in the street outside La Sorbetteria. Because, frankly, their Catrame has ruined me for anything else😅

For a long time, La Sorbetteria had just one location, at the back of the San Frediano neighborhood in Piazza Tasso, and thus was known primarily by locals. Now Antonio has added two more locations. (Antonio Ciabattoni is the wizard behind this gelateria, that he calls “A workshop of ideas”.) The new locations are in more frequently traversed areas. One, next to Piazza Santo Spirito in Via Mazzetta, and one near Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Via dei Banchi.

In the past two years, I’ve seen food tours now stopping at the Via Mazzetta location—almost every time I go there’s a guide imparting the wonders of this gelateria to half a dozen well-healed Americans.

I patiently wait to get my fix until they are done blocking the shop. (This is not a gelateria you enter, but rather, you order at their window that’s open to the sidewalk.)

Apart from the mind-blowing chocolate, expect whimsical flavors such as basil and lime cream or a Thai inspired lemongrass and coconut milk.

Here’s a video of Antonio talking about the gelato he produces.

Carabè

While gelato sounds refreshing when temps are high, it actually gets so hot in Florence in the summer that you may want something even colder, icier, and lighter than gelato. This is when you want to embrace granita.

Granita comes in both savory and sweet flavors, traditionally based on products grown in Sicily such as almond, pistachio, lemon, bergamot, and mulberry.

In 1989, Antonio Lisciandro introduced Sicilian granita to Florence when he opened Carabè in Via Ricasoli. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, whenever I was in Florence in the summer, this was the one and only place to get real granita, and the no-frills shop hasn’t changed in thirty years.

Now, quite a few gelaterie in the city are offering granita. Whereas many offer granita only in the summer, at Carabè you will find multi-seasonal flavors year-round, like almond and caffe. My favorite in summer is a combo of their blackberry, mint, and lemon. I can eat this all day long when the temperatures are burning up the pavements.

Antonio has a “gelato production and training center” in the countryside near Florence (Terranuova Bracciolini), which you can visit, where he makes gelato and granita with fruits grown on the farm.

I have to forewarn you, his gelato is not preferred by everyone as it is leans toward icy rather than creamy, (which is typical of Sicilian style gelato), but for granita you can’t go wrong here, or at the shop in Florence.

Sbrino

I end up at Sbrino (located in Via dei Serragli) often, as it’s the closest to where I live out of my favorite gelaterie.

Their organic gelato includes vegan options, and in the summer they offer granita, while in the winter you can get a paper cup of hot chocolate or hot spiced wine. The farm-style interior is charming and the service is cheery. There’s a satellite location in an itsy bisty shop in Via Senese, outside Porta Romana.

Edoardo

You may wonder, given Edoardo’s location in Piazza del Duomo, if it’s authentic. Because let’s face it, this is a location where you can churn out mediocre anything, and make a killing. But Edoardo is the real deal. Don’t confuse it with the bar/gelateria of the touristy sort, which annoyingly opened next door.

At Edoardo, only organic and seasonal fruit and nuts are used, and their handmade cones are always fresh and some of the best in the city. They also have vegan options and offer quality Florentine hot chocolate in the winter. My favorite granita here is raspberry with a dash of lemon.

Edoardo is the first organic gelato shop in Tuscany and was one of the finalists in the #afirenzecigarba contest (locals voting on the best gelaterie in the city).

They now have a second shop over the Ponte Vecchio in via Guicciardini.

Dei Neri

Gelateria dei Neri is an establishment with longevity on Via dei Neri— a street that’s changed significantly in the past decade. This gelateria was here in the eighties, when I was a twenty-year-old kid going to school in Florence, although on the other side of the street from its present location.

These days Via dei Neri is swamped with panino porn and thus I tend to frequent Gelateria dei Neri only in low season. Although they do have good granita. I love their bergamot granita with a dash of orange added and their coffee granita is nicely creamy without large pieces of ice in it—the way I prefer.

For gelato, in winter try their signature Cremino alla Nocciola (similar to nutella but better) and in summer I recommend the Ricotta e Fichi.

While not the most artisan on my list, their gelato and granita are made on the premises with attention to artisanal methods.

By the way, whipped cream can be added to the coffee granita, and at artisan gelaterie it is homemade and less sugary than in the US.

Il Procopio

Located in the Sant’Ambrogio neighborhood, on Via Pietrapiana, Il Procopio is run by a couple who won the 2011 Gelato Festival. Known for creative, extra creamy gelato, their signature flavors are: Il Procopio (pistachio, almond, candied orange) and La Follia (cream, caramelized figs, pine nuts, toasted almonds).

In summer they offer artisan granita, and you can ask for a sample first. The almond granita for example, has a particular taste—strong, almost as if there’s almond extract in it, but in fact the strength of the flavor is purely from the nuts. It’s not as refreshing as the fruit flavors but for something really Sicilian it’s worth trying.

Pintucci

This newish gelateria in Piazza di Porta Romana is run by the excellent bakery of the same name, a few doors down. Due to the location it caters more to locals than to tourists.

For their gelato they use milk from the Palagiaccio Farm in the Mugello—which is also used by other locales in Florence who care about high quality such as the Ditta Artigianale coffee shop. Their granite have the right texture and are made with seasonal ingredients. Also available here are semifreddi (ice cream cakes) and milkshakes and smoothies. The modern interior includes a seating area, and there are also a few tables next to the street with a view of Porta Romana.

If you’re in need of a gelato delivery when you’re in Florence, Pintucci delivers in biodegradable containers, which is finally becoming a “thing” in some parts of Italy.