Gelato and Pastry in Italy: What to Order in Each City

Our shortlist of Alghero gelaterie covers the artisan shops worth a detour, the house-only flavours to ask for and the lactose-free option on Via Cagliari, plus how to spot real artisan gelato at the counter.

Alghero's pastry counters run on almond paste, dry biscuits and cream-filled breakfast bakes. Start with Roberto Murgia – Dolci in corso, learn what pasta di mandorla is, and know which sweets travel home well.

The best gelato in Amalfi starts with two shops a minute apart near the Duomo: Pasticceria Savoia for the Savoia almond flavour, Cioccolato e Gelato Andrea Pansa for Crema di Nonna Adriana. Here is what to order at each, how the pastry-counter setting changes the experience, and which coastal detours earn a stop.

Pasticceria Pansa is the pastry shop to build a morning around in Amalfi, and the coast has its own sweets: Delizia al Limone, Sfogliatella Santa Rosa and a ricotta-and-pear cake made in Minori. Here is what each one is, where it comes from and which ones to eat fresh.

Arezzo keeps its gelato short and serious: two Gambero Rosso Two Coni addresses and one Un Cono entry, judged by the same guide that rates the rest of Italy. Here is which shop suits which break, what the cones actually mean and how to read a counter before you order.

Arezzo's pastry shops do their best work at breakfast: a cornetto and cappuccino at the bar, a slice of budino di riso if you are lucky, and a box of cantucci to carry home. Here are the pasticcerie worth planning a morning around, what to order in each, and the closing days that can catch you out.

Bellagio is a tiny lakeside village with a big tourist footfall, so real artisan gelato is thin on the ground. Here is how to judge a gelateria by its display, what to order on Lake Como, and why granita deserves a place in your afternoon.

Two pastry shops in Bellagio are worth building a morning around: Pasticceria Sancassani, a pasticceria, caffetteria and gelateria in one, and Bar Sanremo, a pasticceria and confetteria with a garden on the lungolago. Here is what each makes, which local sweets to order and how the sit-down and takeaway options differ.

Bergamo's best gelato starts at Gelato Contadino in Loreto, where the pistachio carries the top Gambero Rosso award, and runs through a long-running artisan shop and a handful of names in the province. Here is where each one is, which flavour to order, and how to fit it into a day.

Bergamo's best pastry shops, sorted by the Gambero Rosso Torte ratings: Caffè Cavour 1880 and Cortinovis at the top, Krizia and La Pasqualina close behind, and the province villages worth a detour for a box of mignon.

Bologna's strongest gelato case rests on four gelaterie that took Gambero Rosso's top Tre Coni recognition in the 2026 guide, plus the creameries just below them. Here is where each one is, what it does best and how to order without holding up the queue.

The best gelato in Cagliari comes down to two addresses: I Fenu in Piazza Galilei, holder of Gambero Rosso's Tre Coni, and Chiccheria on Via Dante, where the flavours change with the season. Here is what to order at each, and how to judge any gelateria you walk past.

Cagliari's pastry counters run from French-leaning cakes to almond sweets wrapped like wedding favours. Here are five pasticcerie worth planning a morning around, the Sardinian sweets to know before you order, and which shop suits a gift box, a breakfast or a market stop.

In Catania the real contest is between gelato and granita, and the best shops sell both alongside a warm brioche col tuppo. These four addresses, from a seafront pasticceria to a bare-bones neighbourhood counter, are where to start.

Granita in Catania means a dense, slowly worked ice served with brioche con il tuppo, often at breakfast. This guide names the Catania and Gravina bars to try, the flavours to order first, and how the cremolada differs.

Catania's pasticcerie are built on cassata, cannoli, torrone and almond sweets. Here are the shops worth planning around, what to order at each counter and how buying by weight works.

Gelato in Cefalù is a matter of reading the counter as much as choosing a shop. This guide explains how to judge a gelateria at a glance, which Sicilian flavours to put first, when granita beats a cone, and how the evening passeggiata sets the rhythm for a second gelato.

Como's best gelato sits in a compact triangle between Piazza Cavour, the Duomo and the lungolago. Here are six artisan gelaterie, the flavours to order at each, and how to tell a real gelateria from a display of bright colours.

Five pastry shops in Como, split between the walled centre and the ring streets just outside it, with the brioche-and-cappuccino breakfast each one does best and how the counter and table routine works.

Cortina d'Ampezzo has one gelato address with both history and product documented: Bar Gelateria Centrale on Piazza Cav. Uff. Apollonio Santin, a family-run bar and gelateria with a long Cercenà lineage behind it. This guide covers what to order, how counter service works and how to tell proper artisan gelato from a tourist scoop on Corso Italia.

Cortina has two pastry shops worth building a morning around: Pasticceria Alverà on Piazza Pittori Fratelli Ghedina for Sachertorte and a seat, and Pasticceria Ghedina on Via Grava di Sotto 9/a for mignon, biscotti and pizzette. Here is what to order at each and how they fit into a day of eating.

Genoa splits its baking between forni and panifici selling warm focaccia and pasticcerie selling cakes and pastries. Here are the counters to know, the local names for what you are buying, and which sweet is worth the detour.

Ten gelaterie in Genoa worth planning a walk around, from a 1927 latteria at Boccadasse to a chocolate maker on Salita del Prione, with the Genoese flavours to order first.

Lucca's best gelato is concentrated in three artisan shops: Ele Gelati e Granite, Gelateria De' Coltelli and Cremeria Opera. Here is what to order at each, how the flavours are built, and how to read a gelateria counter before you commit.

Lucca's pastry shops split into two types: modern labs turning out viennoserie, chocolate and celebration cakes, and neighbourhood pasticcerie where locals take their morning coffee standing. Here are three worth building a morning around, what each is good for and how to order without hesitating at the counter.

Buccellato di Lucca is a sweet bread studded with raisins and perfumed with aniseed, sold as a ring or a loaf and eaten from breakfast onwards. Taddeucci on Piazza San Michele is the historic pasticceria most visitors associate with it, but it is one baker of many.

Gelateria 5 Terre, set into Manarola's main alley near the station tunnel, is the gelateria to seek out for handmade gelato, granita and crepes, with gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan options built into the menu. Here is what to order and how to pick between a cone, a granita and something bigger.

Modena's gelato map runs from Bloom's additive-free scoops and botanical sorbets to Diecigusti's tiny counter and the old-school cream cakes of Antica Gelateria Modenese. These are the gelaterie worth building an evening walk around, with the signature flavour to order at each.

Modena's pastry shops run from a counter opposite Piazza Roma with a view of Palazzo Ducale to a neighbourhood bakery known for its cannoli alla crema. This guide names the places to stop, explains the Modenese habit of dipping gnocco fritto in cappuccino, and shows where to buy balsamico alongside the cakes.

Noto's essential stop for frozen treats is Caffè Sicilia on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, where gelato, sorbetto and granita share the counter with almond biscuits and tray cakes from the Assenza family. Here is what to order, how the counter and tables work, and how Sicilian granita differs from gelato.

Granita in Noto is a breakfast, not a walk-around snack: a glass of soft ice at a café table, a brioche col tuppo on the side and often a spoon of cream on top. Here is what the Sicilian frozen dessert is made of, the flavours to ask for and the Noto cafés and pastry shops known for it.

Caffè Sicilia on Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the pastry shop to plan a Noto morning around: almond biscuits and granita at the counter, modern cakes with unexpected pairings, and a family name behind it all. Here is what to order, how the shop works, and where to buy Sicilian sweets to take home.

The best gelato in Olbia is concentrated on Corso Umberto, where two gelaterie make their own gelato artigianale on the premises. Order myrtle, the Sardinian berry flavour, then look for a granita on a beach day.

Six pastry shops in Olbia worth fitting into a morning, from a via Barcellona family business selling Sardinian sweets to a corso Umberto pasticceria in the centre and a café for a warm breakfast.

Padua's gelato map runs from a family workshop in Albignasego to three Gelateria Romana counters in the city, including one on Piazza dei Signori. Here is what each place is, the flavours worth ordering, and how to read a counter before you commit.

Parma's gelato scene runs from a Gambero Rosso-listed shop in the centre to a crema that won a local award and a creative flavour out in Sorbolo. Here is where to go and what to order.

Parma's pastry shops work on a simple counter model: you point at the pasticcini, they box them, you pay. This guide covers the pasticcerie worth seeking out, what to buy by the piece versus by the cake, and how to order a morning pastry and coffee the way Parma does.

Perugia's best gelato sits within a short walk of Corso Vannucci: Carloni 1989 and Gelateria Veneta by Piazza Italia, Mastro Cianuri in Piazza Matteotti, Lick at the foot of via Oberdan and L'artigiano near the Umbra building. Here is what each counter does well and which flavours to order first.

Perugia's chocolate story runs on three threads: Baci, the Perugina name and the Eurochocolate festival. Here is what each one means for a day in the city.

Pisa's best gelato sits within a short walk of each other: pistachio at a Piazza Garibaldi institution, liquorice and black salt on the Lungarno, and a wide vegan range at Tuffo 13. Here is what to order at each gelateria and how to tell a real artisan shop.

Six pasticcerie in Pisa worth building a morning around, from elegant La Petite on via Matteucci to Sicilian cannoli on via Garibaldi, with the counter etiquette that keeps your colazione moving.

Positano has two gelaterie worth planning a walk around: Collina Positano Bakery for the sfogliatella scoop and Buca di Bacco for a cone by the water. Here is what to order at each, which local flavours to chase, how to tell genuine artisan gelato from the freezer-aisle kind, and where to stop further along the coast.

Two addresses carry Positano's pastry reputation: La Zagara on Via dei Mulini, where a restaurant and pasticceria share a former citrus garden, and Pasticceria Angelo's Dolce & Salato on Via Cristoforo Colombo. Here is what to order at each.

Gelato in Ragusa starts in Ibla, on the small square facing the Duomo, where Gelati Divini scoops olive oil, carob, fig and flower flavours. Here is what to order, how artisan gelato is made and where else to look in the province.

Granita is Sicily's spoonable crushed-ice sweet, eaten at breakfast with brioche and ordered by flavour at the bar counter. Here is what to pick in Ragusa, how it differs from gelato and sorbet, and how the counter routine works.

Ragusa's sweet counters run from an old-guard pasticceria on Via M. Leggio to gelaterie facing the Duomo and a cluster of cake shops at Marina di Ragusa. Here is what each is good for, which Sicilian sweets to order, and how counter service and payment work.

Ravello's Baffone Gelateria Artigianale on Via Roma, run by Ugo and Valentina D'Angelo, is the town's best-known gelateria. Here is what to order, how the seasonal and vegan options work, and where to head for gelato elsewhere on the coast.

The sweets to ask for first around Ravello are lemon and almond ones: delizia al limone and the pasticciotto di Atrani. Here is what to order, the classic Amalfi pasticcerie to know, and one independent shop whose listed address is a long way from the coast.

Six artisan gelaterie in Ravenna, with the street each one sits on, what it does best and how to choose between a stop in the centre and a detour into the neighbourhoods.

Ravenna's pastry shops do breakfast at the counter, boxes of pasticcini to take home and celebration cakes. Here are three to know: Dante Pasticceria, Pasticceria Veneziana and Pasticceria al Duomo, with what each one sells and how to order.

Six independent gelaterie and one long-standing Rimini institution, grouped by where they sit in the city, with the flavour to order at each and how to read a counter before you commit.

Six pasticcerie in Rimini, Cattolica and Riccione, each known for a different bake: mother-yeast loaves, maritozzi, French-leaning cakes and macarons. Here is what to order where.

Gelateria Dondoli on Piazza della Cisterna is the San Gimignano gelateria worth planning around, and its saffron cream and rosemary-raspberry flavours show why. This guide covers what to order, how the counter works and how to spot real artisan gelato from the display.

Gelateria Dondoli is a tiny gelato shop on Piazza della Cisterna in San Gimignano, run by Sergio Dondoli since 1992. Order the Crema di Santa Fina or the Vernaccia sorbetto, expect a queue, and treat it as the sweet stop in a day built around Tuscan eating.

San Gimignano's sweet stops do different jobs: Bristot for Sienese pastries, Forno Boboli for a bakery counter and a sit-down plate near Porta San Matteo, and Gelateria Dondoli for a cone on Piazza della Cisterna. Here is what each one is good for, and what to order.

Siena's Gambero Rosso-listed gelaterie, La Vecchia Latteria and Masgalano, sit alongside neighbourhood shops like Gelateria Nice and Kopakabana. Here is what each one does well and which flavours to order.

Ricciarelli are small, soft almond biscuits with a cracked sugar crust; panforte is a dense, chewy spiced cake of nuts, dried fruit and honey. Both carry protected IGP names reserved for sweets made in the province of Siena. Here is how they differ, which Siena producers are named in the IGP committees, and what to buy.

Gelato in Sirmione means a cone between the old-town lanes and the water, with Mister Ice Gelateria the in-town option. Gelateria Amor di Gelato, listed at an address in Salò on the Brescia shore, is a Garda-side detour rather than a Sirmione stop: here is what to order and how to spot real artisan work.

Sirmione has little in the way of a home-grown pastry tradition, so the sweet stop here is about a good café counter rather than a regional cake hunt. Caffetteria Pasticceria Fenice on Via Verona is the address to build a morning around, with a breakfast spread, a mignon counter and seasonal sweets.

Two artisan gelaterie in Sorrento are worth planning around: Gelateria David on Via Marziale for Bronte pistachio, Sorrento lemon and the warm Pan David, and Fresco Sorrento for whole-milk gelato, Modica chocolate and monthly specials with toppings.

Delizia al limone is a dome of soft sponge filled with lemon cream, brushed with Limoncello syrup and finished with a lemon and cream glaze. It belongs to Campania and the Sorrentine Peninsula, where fragrant local lemons do the heavy lifting. Here is what each layer does, why the individual domes suit a counter order, and how to ask for one by name.

Gelateria Levante on Via Trento is the gelateria to start with in Syracuse, with shops in Ortigia, Taormina and Catania. Here is what to order, from the four-flavour granita tasting to brioche con gelato, and how to judge a gelateria counter at a glance.

In Syracuse, granita is a dense, creamy pistachio affair eaten with brioche col tuppo, often before ten in the morning. Here are the flavours worth ordering, how the brioche breakfast works, and where to try granita in Ortigia and beyond.

Syracuse's pastry counters are for eating, not admiring: cannoli filled on the spot, cassatine and cassatelle made with sheep's ricotta, and granita eaten by the spoonful. Here is what to order, how the counter works, and where one Ortigia pasticceria fits into your day.

Levante Gelateria is the Taormina gelateria to plan around, with artisan gelato, granite and a four-flavour granita tasting built on mango, almond, strawberry and pistachio. Here is what to order and how granita competes with gelato in eastern Sicily.

In Taormina, granita is a seated Sicilian breakfast of coarse, slowly worked ice with a brioche on the side. Here is what the flavours taste like, what to order at Bam Bar, and the texture test that separates real granita from a prepared base.

Taormina has artisan pastry shops worth planning a walk around: Laboratorio Pasticceria Roberto on Corso Umberto I for a cannolo or a box of Sicilian sweets, and Pasticceria D'Amore for almond paste, croccante and pignolata messinese. Here is what each makes and which sweets are which.

Trapani's two most distinctive artisan gelaterie sit at opposite ends of the city: one on the seafront at Viale delle Sirene, the other a pastry-and-gelato workshop on Via degli Anemoni. Here is what each does best, which flavours to order, and how to tell real gelato from a ready-made base.

Trapani's granita is coarser and more savoured than sorbet, and it is breakfast food. This guide covers the flavours worth ordering, the brioche and biscuits that go with them, and the pasticceria on Via delle Arti that has built its reputation on almond and coffee granita.

Trapani's pastry shops are counter businesses: you point, you pay, you eat standing or take a box away. Here is what to order, which two pasticcerie to start with, and how the sweet counter sits alongside savoury food.

Treviso runs on pastry: mignon pasticcini eaten at the counter, bignè, bavaresi and maritozzi, plus the Veneto shops awarded Gambero Rosso Two Cakes in Pasticceri e Pasticcerie d'Italia. Here is what to order at each shop, and which need a car.

Treviso ties its name to the tiramisù, and the city has a shop, a restaurant and a dedicated day built around the dessert. Here is what a classic version contains, how the local origin claim is told, and where in Treviso to sit down and order one.

Trieste's gelato map runs from a century-old counter on via Ghega to an open laboratory you can watch being used. Here are six artisan shops worth planning a walk around, with the flavours to order at each.

Trieste's pastry counters are a mitteleuropean inheritance: presnitz, putizze, Sacher and dobos eaten standing with a coffee. Here are the pasticcerie that matter, the sweets to order at each, and the difference between a quick counter stop and a sit-down breakfast.

Verona's gelato scene runs from a riverside shop near Ponte Pietra to an artisan gelateria holding Gambero Rosso three cones. Here are five places worth your time, the flavours to order at each, and how to choose between a cone, a cup, a granita or a brioche filled with gelato.

Verona's pastry shops divide neatly into morning bars, sit-down pasticcerie and bakeries worth a detour. Here is where to eat a slice of Nadalin, buy a pandoro and find good brioche any month of the year.

Italian desserts split into three families: pastry-shop sweets, spoon desserts and ice cream. Here is what each one is, where it comes from and how to order it at the end of a meal.

Italian gelato is denser, less fatty and served slightly warmer than ice cream, which is why a good scoop tastes so concentrated. This guide explains the churn, the classic flavours, how to read a counter and how to order without hesitating, with city picks from Rome to San Gimignano.

Gelato is not just the Italian word for ice cream. Lower fat, less air and a warmer serving temperature change the texture and how fast the flavour arrives. Here is what to look for at an Italian gelateria counter.

Sicilian granita is a dense, spoonable ice of water, sugar and fruit, nut or coffee flavourings, usually served with a hot brioche. Here are the classic flavours, the pairing logic Sicilians use, and how to order it at the bar.

Real gelato looks plainer than the postcard version: muted colours, flat trays and a short ingredient list. Here are seven checks you can make at the counter before you order.

Italian chocolate is not one thing: Turin's soft gianduiotto, Sicily's cold-worked Modica bars and the filled chocolates of Perugia each taste completely different. This guide explains the main regional styles, the brands worth knowing and how to buy and store them.

Italian Christmas desserts are a family of sweets rather than one cake: panettone on many tables, fried honey dough balls in the south, and the coiled Calabrian pitta 'mpigliata. This guide explains what each one is, where it comes from and how it is served at the end of the Christmas meal.

Italian cookies are biscuits first and dessert second: small, dry, often almond-based, and built to be dunked. Here is what the main types are, how they fit into an Italian day, and whether to buy them from a pasticceria counter or a supermarket packet.

Italian gelaterie work on a simple system: you choose a cone or a tub, pick your flavours and eat standing up. Here is how to read the case, translate the names you will see most often and decide between the safe classics and the herb, floral and spice flavours that make a shop memorable.

Cioccolata calda is the Italian answer to hot chocolate: dark, thick enough to hold a spoon upright and only lightly sweet. Here is how it differs from the runny version at home, how to order one at a bar counter, and how to make it at home with cocoa, milk, cream and a little cornstarch.

Modica chocolate is a coarse, crumbly bar from south-eastern Sicily, ground rough and barely processed rather than refined smooth. Here is what gives it that crumbly bite, how the flavour differs from a supermarket bar, and what to look for when you buy one in Modica or bring it home.

Naples runs on two desserts above all: sfogliatella, a crisp layered shell filled with sweetened ricotta and semolina, and pastiera, the ricotta and wheat-berry cake that marks Easter. Here is what each one is, how it is made, and which version to order first.

Sardinian desserts are built on ricotta, semolina, almonds and citrus zest, from flower-shaped pardulas to honey-dressed seadas and soft almond amaretti. Here is what each sweet is, when islanders eat it, and how to order it at a pasticceria counter or from a restaurant menu.

Sicilian desserts run from ricotta-filled cannoli to almond paste fruit, granita spooned with brioche and regional pastries from Trapani, Ragusa and Messina. Here is what each one is, when it appears and how to order a short, well-chosen list at a pasticceria counter.