Gelato in Italy

I was in Italy during the worst winter they have had in over 30 years. The temperatures were cold. The windows in our apartment were ancient and did not keep the warm air inside and the cold air outside. It snowed. Not just once but several times. so it ws not what I would consider peak gelato season. But despite that, there are gelato stores on almost every block in the Renassiance era part of Florence. And it is glorious to look at. The Italians know how to make everything look good and ice cream is no exception. Gelato has much to recommend it--first of all, it tastes richer than ice cream in the United Staes--even though it has a butter fat content of 4-8% instead of 14%. It has very intense flavoring. The fruit flavors pop with fruitiness, the chocolate is chocolatier, and the nut flavors are spectacular. The mouth feel is also a plus--gelato often has egg yolks in it, which add to the silky feel of it. Even without egg yolks, it is more satisfying, maybe because of the the higher sugar content. Less is more with gelato. So wide availability is a plus, regardless of the season.