Gelateria Vivoli

The best ice cream parlor in Florence

Gelateria Vivoli
Via Isole delle Stinche 7r
tel. +39-055-292-334
www.vivoli.it
Closed Mondays

Sights nearby
** Santa Croce [church]
** Bargello [museum]
* Badia [church]
Casa di Dante [museum]
*** Piazza della Signoria [square]
** Palazzo Vecchio [palace/museum]
*** Uffizi [museum]
* Museum of Science [museum]

Other places to eat nearby
** Acqua Al 2 [meal]
* I Cche C'é C'é [meal]
* Alle Murate [meal]
** Le Mossacce [meal]

Hotels nearby
Hotel Bernini Palace [premier]
B&B Le Seggiole [cheap]
La Casa del Garbo Hotel [moderate]

Grand Hotel Cavour [premier]
Hotel Relais Santa Croce by Baglioni [splurge]
Borghese Palace Art Hotel [premier]
Hotel Bavaria [super-cheap]
Hotel Santa Croce [super-cheap/cheap]
Galigai Tower [cheap/moderate]
» More hotels nearby

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The city's most renowned temple of the cool, creamy snack is Vivoli, serving up what is arguably the best gelato in town since 1930.

Like the best chefs, Piero Vivoli is up at dawn to haunt the local market stalls, visiting his favorite three or four trusted greengrocers and spice stalls for the ingredients he will take back and turn into flavors for his gelato. He can prove how famous his family enterprise is with a yellowing postcard taped to the wall. It was addressed simply "Vivoli, Europa"—and the European postal systems knew exactly where to send it.

Vivoli is closed Mondays, but otherwise stays open until 11pm in winter, midnight or later in summer, and is always crowded—even though it is a bit hard to find, hidden in the twist of alleys west of Santa Croce, just north of Via Ghibellina.

(Actually, notice how this street curves? That's because it follows the arc of the outer wall of the ancient Roman amphitheater buried in the buildings' basements. Oh, and that tiny stone arch at knee level in the exterior wall to the right of the store? That was a "wine window" from back when families would sell their homemade hooch to the passing public. The plaque up above identifies this palazzo as hosing the first humble studio of Giovanni Dupré, who would go on to become one of Italy's premier Neoclassical sculptors. Yes, in Florence even the ice cream comes with historical sightseeing facts.)

Tips

Gelateria etiquette: At Florentine gelaterie, just like at bars and cafes, don't just saunter up to the bar and order two scoops of cioccolato or an espresso. Go first to the cashier, order what you want, pay for it, and take the receipt to the counter where you can order your cappuccino or your coppa (cup) or cono (cone) of gelato, putting the receipt down with a small coin as a tip.
Prices are pretty standardized: You pay by the size of the coppa (cup) or cono (cone), not by the scoop. That means you can—indeed, are encouraged to—squeeze two or even three flavors into even the smallest cup. Italians taught me that even unusual pairs go great together; a personal favorite: cioccolato e limone (chocolate gelato and lemon sorbetto). No, really; try it. Also most Italians order by the cup; the cone is a fun—if messy—American addition to the options, but not too popular.

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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Gelateria Vivoli

The best ice cream parlor in Florence

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