Stefano and Vito

Rome, Italy

It’s not just your average Neapolitan that Italy has to offer. Stefano and Vito work in a beautiful, gold-gilded ice cream shop called Hedera. They gave me a run-down of the many gelato flavours and other traditionally Italian sweets.

The dark and rich chocolate gelato is made from a Venezuelan cacao.

A flavour called Crema Nonno Peppe (Cream of Grandfather Peppe) uses a recipe that goes back two generations.

“This gelateria is the best because it’s a family business...”

A strong mocha made freshly in house is used to flavour the coffee gelato.

Croccante is Stefano’s favourite flavour – cream, chocolate biscuit and cherry.

Then there is the shop’s official flavour which shares its namesake – Hedera. I am told the ingredients are top secret, but can verify that, whatever they are, they taste good!

"Our gelato is artisan. We make the gelato day by day, it’s so fresh."

The cream of vanilla and the pistachio options are very popular.

Granita, which is crushed and sugary ice, comes in sweet, tempting flavours – strawberry, lemon, almond, coffee, apricot and mango.

“It’s a specialty in Italy. Sun and granita is a perfect combination.”

Tiramisu, biscuits and sorbet add to the myriad of sweet treats, as well as canoles, which design student Stefano tells me are typical desserts from Southern Italy, Sicily.

So when in Rome, after stopping at Ora De Re for some street food, you can wander a little further down to Hedera and have gelato for dessert. The tricky question is, which flavour will you choose?