The first annual gelato festival will be held in Florence from Friday May 28 to Monday May 31, 2010.
The festival hours are 10:00 a.m - 11:00 p.m. May 28th - May 30th and 10:00 a.m – 3:00 p.m. May 31st.
The piazzas participating in the event are Piazza SS Annunziata, Piazza San Giovanni, Piazza della Repubblica(Caffe`Giubbe Rosse), Piazza Strozzi, Palazzo Vecchio.
Other gelaterie participating in the event include:
Gelateria Serafino – Piazzetta Salvemini
Gelateria Carabè – Piazzetta delle Belle Arti
Gelateria Carapina – Piazza de’ Salterelli
Gelateria Grom – Via del Campanile
Gelateria La Carraia – Lungarno Soderini/Piazza Nazario Sauro
Gelateria Perchè No – Via dei Tavolini
Entrance to festival is free. Taste cards can be purchased online or at the "information points" in Piazza SS Annunziata and Piazza S Giovanni di Firenze during the festival or at the bookshop at the tourist office in Piazza della Stazione 4 from May 25 - 31 between 10:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m. Cards can also be purchased at gelaterias participating in the festival. One taste card costs €1 and five taste cards costs €5.
*Gelato is said to have been first created by Florentine architect and artist Bernardo Buontalenti, for the court of Francesco de' Medici in 1565. In a recent region-wide competition, Tuscan gelato artisans created a gelato flavor called Buontalenti, homage to the Renaissance artist.
