Delving into the history and traditions of Italian gelato making throughout the ages reveals the care and attention that goes into making each mouthful taste so heavenly

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Silky green pistachio. Bittersweet chocolate. A swirl of hazelnut, or a spoonful of stracciatella, with its chocolate shavings. And the inimitable fior di latte: a simple ‘milk flower’ made without even vanilla to distract the palate from the milk, the most precious of raw ingredients when it comes to gelato-making. These are the original flavours, the recipes you can find in ice-cream parlours across Italy – and they’re direct descendants of the frozen desserts served in Italian palaces and French royal banquets ever since the 17th century.

Like many of Italy’s best-loved recipes, gelato has a long and varied tradition that’s deeply woven into the nation’s culinary tapestry. There’s little doubt a form of this iced dessert came from Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance. Legend has it that an artist and architect called Bernardo Buontalenti, who was recognised for designing many of Florence’s landmark buildings, first created a type of ice cream for the city’s ruling aristocrats in the 1500s. In a beautiful tribute to the legend, a custard-based gelato named after Buontalenti can still be enjoyed in Florence and throughout Italy today. What about the milky fior di latte? Some claim it was invented by alchemist and sorcerer Cosimo Ruggeri in the court of Catherine de’ Medici during a cookery contest. The shady figure of Ruggeri was shrouded in mystery and magic, so it’s perhaps fitting that the origins of this enticing flavour stem from him. Either way, it’s believed to have been a Sicilian who first brought gelato as it’s known today to a wider audience, by selling his frozen ices in a café in Paris in the late 17th century. Chef Francesco Procopio Cutò built on Italian traditions of frozen milk and iced lemonade to bring this new phenomenon to wealthy Parisians.The reaction was immediate. He was given a royal warrant by King Louis XIV to sell his confections, and he’s often heralded as the father of gelato. Francesco’s eponymous Café Procope is the oldest in Paris, and still exists today.