Walking through the Gelaterias of Florence, you can notice that eating gelato involves more than just the simple action of eating it. Many customs exist around the eating of the gelato. In many Italian houses, gelato is offered as dessert for the guests. For the young people it is a good way of going out with friends and socializing. Even when they grow up it is a nice way to meet with old friends. Lately, I have been going quite often to Gelateria Vivoli, and a few days ago I noticed that there’s one special group of old men that, most of the times that I have gone , are there just chatting having a gelato as they used to do when they were younger. It is nice to see how people still keep the custom of just going with friends and eating a gelato without hurry or guilt. People eat gelato mainly in the afternoon or after dinner, and this has been the custom for many, many years! There is, of course, a little of romance around the gelato. They call it “strumento di conquista” that means something like “flirting instrument”, and it is an innocent way to flirt with someone that you like. According to the Instituto del gelato Italiano (Italian Gelato Insitut) , for Italian people the gelato is synonym of taste and pleasure(95%), joy (84%), company(75%), and freedom(55%). So gelato is not just about eating it, it is about tradition, reuniting old friends, and bringing together new ones. There's no better way to spend a day with the people you love than eating delicious gelato!
-Aracely
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