A Gelato a Day …

… keeps the doctor away.

That’s my story and I am sticking to it! 😊

When we first saw the flyer for Gelato Week, we thought it was a ‘Bologna-only’ event. After all, Bologna is widely recognized as the modern “Capital of Gelato” and a major hub of the industry … housing the renowned Carpigiani Gelato University and the Gelato Museum.

Anyway, we were wrong. The event takes place further afield as well. Some of the participating cities this year are Firenze — historically accepted as the birthplace of gelato in the 16th century — as well as Milano, Torino, Roma, Verona, Padova, Napoli, Lecce, and Reggio Calabria.

(Yes, those are not the English versions of the city names … I am learning Italian, and it is easier for me to distinguish the gender of the city name by using the proper spelling in this language.)

The way Gelato Week works: you pick the city where you want to participate, select the route you want to follow, decide if you want to purchase your sweet treat in a coppetta or a cornetto [cup or cone], and buy a ticket. You can buy multiple tickets if you want to follow multiple routes. Then you visit the participating gelato shops and … well, enjoy your gelato.

We purchased our tickets on Monday, the 13th, after the special discount voucher we searched for and found online was activated. We opted for the cone ticket … €14pp … less with the 15% discount voucher. The cone ticket allows 2-3 flavors in a cone or a cup, including the special flavor being offered during this special week.

We opted for the Santo Stefano route over the Centro Storico. We live in the Centro after all and can go to those gelaterie anytime. Two of the five gelaterie on our Santo Stefano route were in neighborhoods that were well off the beaten path. We went to those by bus (15-25 minute ride) and returned on foot (40-60 minute walk). The other three were all walking distance (15-20 minute walk from the apartment), dallying for photo ops along the way (those photos to be shared at a later date).

You can visit all five of the participating gelaterie in a single day. But why rush the experience. Gelato is to be savored. So, we spread our gelato treats over the duration of the event, visiting one each day. With two-three flavor cones normally ranging in price from €3 to €5, we were expecting that the dips might be smaller with the ticket, but they turned out to be quite generous actually.

(By the way, gelaterie is not a typo … it is the plural form of gelateria, which is a feminine noun … but derived from gelato, which is a masculine noun 🤯. Don’t worry, I am not going to bore you with Italian language trivia in every footprint!)

We’ve had gelati in Bologna many-a-time before this and have our favorite gelaterie in Centro Storico. But after Gelato Week, Cremeria Artiginale D’Azeglio, the first gelateria we visited during Gelato Week, now tops our list.

That said, Cremeria da Paolo would have unseated all of our favorites, including D’Azeglio, but it is too far … a 20-25 minute bus ride or a 45-60 minute walk. Just not convenient.

By the way, La Sorbetteria Castiglione is one of the two gelaterie mentioned in a March 2026 New York Times article, “36 Hours in Bologna.” We went there today. I enjoyed the flavors I ordered; the pistachio did not pass Mui’s “taste test.” The gelato was a bit softer than we prefer … I had barely enough time for one quick photo of my coppetta before I had to put the phone away and quickly consume my gelato.

We enjoyed participating in Gelato Week and look forward to repeating the experience next year.

On another note … Thanks to the partnership with WAMI (Water with a Mission), each Gelato Week ticket sold guarantees 250 liters of drinking water to a community in Nicaragua, equal to a person's daily water footprint. So, in addition to enjoying delicious gelato, we are doing some good for those in need.Læs mere