However, despite the large variety of flavors, when it comes to ice cream, we cannot say that Italians enjoy daring or are enticed to try something new. Most Italian gelaterie tend to divide their flavors between fruit ones, which are usually made with water, and milk-based ones, which can also contain egg. Today, ice cream shops can be found pretty much everywhere, offering an enormous array of flavors and combinations that will leave you standing for hours unable to make up your mind. The history of global industrial ice cream, however, started when Giovanni Basiolo first introduced it to America in the early 1800s, and thanks to the refinement of the new hand-crank freezer, it soon became a widespread commodity, considerably changing the humble Italian artisanal tradition of making gelato. Later on, Caterina de’ Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, was responsible for spreading gelato to neighboring European countries, together with the Sicilian fisherman Francesco Procopio, who opened an ice cream shop in Paris in the late 1600s, making gelato increasingly popular and requested. However, gelato started becoming an integral part of the everyday lives of Italians in the 15th and 16th centuries, thanks to the architect Bernardino Buontalenti, who invented the first refrigeration system. Interestingly enough, the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo first introduced the use of milk, as he had seen during his travels in Asia in the 13th century, thus setting the foundations of the ice cream we know today. The Romans later drew inspiration from the Egyptians and adopted the ritual of covering with honey the ice from Vesuvius and Mount Etna. Though it is well known that gelato is an Italian invention, most people may not know that the first people to actually mix ice with fruits were the Egyptians, back in 2500 BC. Indeed, this wonderful invention is an essential symbol of the Italian Dolce Vita culture, which has been appreciated worldwide for centuries. It would be hard to imagine a holiday along the swirling coast of Naples or through the ancient streets of Rome without the accompaniment of a deliciously creamy and colorful ice cream.
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