When I was a kid, I used to eat a lot of gelato and this was one of our regular haunts. Right across from the Pantheon, it boasts having over 150 different gelato flavors. While this famous shop is very popular later in the day with tourists and locals alike, stop in around breakfast time and you get the place to yourself, plenty of time to admire all of the flavors on offer and to grab one of the few seats outside. Buy your ice cream ticket at the cash and then bring it over to the ice cream counter to get your cone
If you are in the mood for chocolate ice cream, interestingly Della Palma offers several options all called by the origin of the beans the chocolate used is made from. The idea is that each will have distinct flavor notes, some possibly more fruity, others more nutty. I didn’t order the chocolates but instead a hot chocolate. This one is the definition of an Italian hot chocolate, so thick I had to “sip” it with a spoon. It wasn’t particularly tasty (I don’t think they use any of the chocolates they use in their ice cream but rather a powder that tastes a bit like cornstarch), but sitting outside with a view of the Pantheon watching the shops wake up for the day was a great welcome to the city.
Gelateria Della Palma, 19-23 Via della Maddalena, Rome Italia. Hours: 8:30-24:00. www.gelateria-della-palma.shop
