One of my favorite things about visiting Italy, without a doubt, is the gelato. I like ice cream in all its forms, but the Italians have done something magical with their version. I routinely encourage people traveling to Italy to eat at least two scoops of gelato every day, but I should caution you that once you try Italian gelato you may not be satisfied with regular ice cream ever again.
Gelato shops in Italy are called “gelaterie” (gelateria is the singular), and they’re colorful affairs - the glass cases are often full of tubs of gelato overflowing and calling to you. You’ll be able to identify many of the flavors by the pictures some shops include on the flavor cards, but others may be a complete mystery. If you want to learn a little bit more about what potential gelato flavor oddities you could run into during your trip, here’s my list of Italian gelato flavors - decoded. (Also be sure to read my tips for getting good gelato in Italy and learn how to order gelato, too!)
The Chocolates
“Cioccolato” (cho-koh-LAH-toh) is basic chocolate, but the variations on this theme are nearly endless. It’s all the rage to pair chocolate with other complimentary flavors, like hot pepper or orange, and there are also different kinds of chocolate even when it’s all by itself. Here are a few to look for:
The Nuts
Nuts are a popular ingredient in many of the chocolate and cream flavors, but they’re also stand-alone flavors as well.
The Creams
Here’s a flavor tip - if your first flavor choice is something particularly strong or difficult to match with something else, getting a cream flavor for a second scoop is a good option because it generally won’t fight with the first flavor, but will add a muted backdrop.
The Fruits
Technically, these aren’t really considered gelati - instead, they’re sorbetti (sorbetto in the singular) because they’re made without milk. The fruit flavors are some of my favorites - they’re so intense, you’ll be amazed at how like the real thing they taste.
The Oddballs
You’ll find regional and seasonal gelato specialties wherever you go, and some that are based on popular Italian candy bars or other desserts. There’s no way to capture them all here (and you’re encouraged to try any and all odd flavors to see what you make of them yourself!), but here are a few you might see.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to try all of these flavors - and more - on your trip. And if I’ve missed your favorite flavor, or you want an explanation of a flavor you saw in Italy, leave a comment below!
Also be sure to check out the Tour del Gelato, with reviews of specific gelaterie around Italy and beyond.
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I was in Italy last November and they had Egg Nogg, it tasted like crap
Claudia, grazie mille per l’informazione! I have fixed my mistakes now. 
And Greg, was it called “egg nog,” or was it in Italian?
I’m a gelato’s lover and I’m happy to see that italian ice cream is appreciate all over the world.
Also taste’s combinations are important as one of my best choise is Stracciatella with Menta (mint).
However, as everywhere, ice cream’s quality changes from place to place. I suggest to all foreign ice cream’s lovers to prefers only “Gelatarie” and not the tipical italian bar where ice cream quality is lower.
At last try Grom Gelaterie because is one of the best and natural ice cream I ever etaen.
Thanks for the comment, Tom - yes, Grom makes great gelato, with all natural ingredients. And they’re a chain with locations all over Italy, plus even a store in New York!
I was recently in Rome & noticed a flavor of gelato ‘Viagra’ after I had purchased another flavor. It was terribly busy, so I didn’t get a chance to ask what the flavor was. I haven’t been able to find an explanation elsewhere, & I didn’t see that flavor at any other gelato establishment afterwards.
Wow, VIAGRA flavor??? I’ll need to see if I can find someone who can tell me what flavor that is! Was the Viagra flavor blue?
If I remember right, I saw a bright blue “Smurf” flavor in a tiny gelateria in the Friuli several years ago, and my Italian friend said it was a raspberry flavor - I imagine it’s akin to that “blue raspberry” you tend to see the U.S. (where are all these blue raspberries, I ask you??).
I love Gelato and I certainly miss Italy!
~eunice~
http://travelerfolio.com
For the amarena flavor:
the cherries named amarena is a kind of cherries that it taste acrid strongly (amarena a female and substantival sense for amaro=bitter,acrid).
Some times the amarena sauce is stewed in her self with only sugar, some times it is sirup simply.
For example my mother prepare it with amarena, sugar and sun. It leave the amarena and the sugar in an well closed and large glass container under the sun for some days. Periodically she decant the excedent sauce that them produced.
The final result is the amarena in the its own sauce. Delicious
While my favorite combo is bacio and cocco, a nice summer treat is yogurt (yo-goort) with limoncello (the liquor). Ahhhh… I can imagine it now!
Caramel flavor was really really delicious. i’ve never tasted anything ‘caramel flavored’ that had such a strong, distinct, amazing caramel flavor.
nutell is always a favorite of mine.
banana– really creamy and banana-y
ananas– pineapple flavor. yum
tiramasu is always really yummy as well
** nutella– not nutell. sorry
i swear it’s like europe’s peanut butter
Have you ever had fig flavored gelato?? Its amazing!
Hello,
I was recently in Italy, and had a delicious gelato, but I can’t remember the name. It looked like it had blueberries, on top, but it was NOT blueberry flavored, nor was it the fruits of the forest… any thoughts?
Jacqueline, that’s a good question… I’m not sure what flavor it would have been, but I’ll ask around and see if I can find out. What city where you in when you had this mysterious flavor? And was the gelato actually purplish in color, or was it white with bits of the fruit mixed in?
Mmm. I love gelato, and while I certainly appreciated the taste, I sometimes wondered what all the flavours actually were. Can’t wait to have more soon! Sadly the last time I was in Italy, I did beeline straight to the gelato store, but just as quickly broke their napkin dispenser and ran out shortly after in shame. (not before apologizing profusely and offering to pay for the case first of course)
While in Italy last month I came across the gelato flavor puffo e viagra, which was Smurf blue in color. When I questioned the flavor, I was told it isn’t for me, only for men…you know, viagra! Do you have any idea what it tastes like? My friend had a taste and couldn’t place the taste.
Someone else in the earlier comments asked about that viagra flavor, too, Barbie - but I still haven’t found anyone who’s tried it & knows what the flavor actually is. Apparently I’ll have to do some digging of my own the next time I see it on display in a gelato shop!
GELATO IS GOOD
Hi, I’m doing a report on gelato for school (gelato vs. ice cream) and I was wondering if you knew which ones are the popular flavors.
Thanks muchly.
I’ve now updated the post with information about the “puffo” flavor (which is anise), and with a little bit about Viagra gelato. I still haven’t found anyone who’s tried it & can tell me what flavor it is, however. I’m still looking!
Thank you for your nice comment, Jessica. You are doing a good work on our “gelato”!
Hi,
I have a question about a flavor….
It had caramel running through it and tasted like vanilla. Could you help me figure out this flavor?
Grazie,
Toni
Vanilla with caramel running through it? Well, I’d have guessed caramello - caramel flavor. But if it didn’t taste like caramel, then I’m at a loss.
i like gelato and i make it also can u send 4 me the flavors with pic in my email and 10x
i like gelato its so fat
Hi,
Recently my husband and I enjoyed a trip through Italy! We loved it!! We enjoyed everything we ate along the way. One thing I remember most was an amazing Gelato! I believe it was in Florence and Tutti frutti was the flovor! We have recently purchased a small machine to make gelato at home and I don’t know how to make this flavor. It tasted like a good quality vanilla flavor with diced candied fruit. Could you possibly help me with an exact recipe? I would greatly appreciate your help!!
Beth DeStefano
Melbourne, FL
Thanks for posting this up! It was really entertaining to read!
On another note, I was searching for that Viagra-flavored gelato on the Internet…most people said it was simply limoncello gelato colored blue, and consequently it tasted like sour lemonade. I personally wouldn’t know, though.
I’m going to use this article as a basic gelato guide from now on. 
Hi, Beth:
I don’t have a recipe for tutti-frutti gelato, and the ones I’m finding online look like they’re more for smoothies than gelato. I’d probably just use a good vanilla ice cream recipe (I recommend the one in the David Lebovitz book, “The Perfect Scoop”) and put whatever candied fruits in that you like. One recipe I saw did add a tablespoon of grenadine in addition to the various fruits, which might help you recreate the flavor you had in Florence.
Just make sure that you’re letting the gelato churn in the machine on its own - without the diced fruit - and only adding the solid bits after you’ve put it in the container you’re freezing it in. Then you’ll mix the diced fruits in manually before popping it into the freezer to harden a bit. Otherwise you could damage your machine.
Happy gelato making!
Ciao,
Jessica
Hi!
There used to be a gelato place near my home that served lavender gelato, and I loved it. Is this flavor ever seen in Italy?
Also, what do you think of Florence’s Gelato Vivoli?
I know some people who’ve eaten lavender gelato in Italy, yes - I’ve not seen it myself, however. And you can read my review of Vivoli here:
http://www.italylogue.com/food-drink/vivoli-in-florence-does-famous-gelato-live-up-to-the-hype.html
Hi,
thank you for the nice description, but some Italian word isn’t write in the right way (like mine probably :P)
pepperoncini –> peperoncini is the right;
taroccho — > tarocco is the right (is a kind of orange)
canella –> Cannella
just to be of some assistance.
Claudia (from Roma - Italy)