You had to dare, an Italian glacier did it: a “Covid-19” ice cream to spread the bitter taste of the pandemic, while the Italians rediscover, thanks to deconfinement, the pleasure of tasting their famous “gelati Under the spring sun.
"It is a symbol of the coming summer," rejoices Francesco, a resident of Rome who greedily looks at his dripping cone of ice cream, which is part of Italian DNA.
The "gelateria" is once again one of the poles of attraction of the large main square of Testaccio, popular district of Rome where children frolic on their scooters, enjoying freedom again. The silence of more than two months of confinement finally responds to the shrill cries of the little ones who are re-appropriating their play area.
A “remedy” of white chocolate and pistachio sauce
Francesco, in his fifties, was impatiently awaiting the reopening of the artisanal glacier. "Now I'm sure I'm going to make up for lost time!" I love ice, it's part of summer, the heat coming back! », He confides, pausing to lick his dripping cone, topped with a pile of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, all topped with Chantilly. According to a study published this week by the Coldiretti, the main Italian agricultural union, the consumption of ice cream has gone back to Italy with the deconfinement and sunny days.
In Milan, the owner of the “Dolce Passione” glacier saw the opportunity to launch a new product: the Covid-19 perfume ice cream. Guaranteed success, and moreover immediate. “Ice cream as a remedy for the Covid-19 seems like a nice idea to me. She won't solve the medical problem, but she's still good, ”smiles Tindara Spada.
“Some people in our city died from the disease, and we are sorry. That is why we have tried to give something positive in return. With my team, we thought of making this ice cream, ”explains the young woman. Its somewhat special “medicine” against coronavirus is made with white chocolate ice cream and pistachio sauce. "We advertised" on social networks and "right away, it was a great success, in two hours we sold four and a half kilos of ice", she rejoices.
Six kilos on average of ice per year
Italy, the world leader in artisanal ice cream, has 39,000 glaciers which employ around 150,000 people with an annual turnover of 2.8 billion euros.
Each Italian consumes more than six kilos on average per year, preferably "artisan ice cream with historic flavors" according to Coldiretti. A passion that requires 220 million liters of milk, 64 million kilos of sugar, 21 million kilos of fresh fruit and 29 million kilos of other products per year.
I missed the ice cream a lot, ”confirms Marco, in a summer t-shirt revealing tattooed arms, his protective mask lowered over his neck to swallow up“ the best ice cream in Rome ”on the Place de Testaccio.
A popular craftsman
Tiziana confesses with a laugh that she passed “every day” with her husband in front of the storefront to watch for “the first day of reopening”.
In the historic heart of Rome, deserted because of coronavirus, and whose cobblestones are no longer surveyed by thousands of tourists eating ice cream at all hours of the day, the glaciers, however, look gray. Some strollers or employees in the district nevertheless offer themselves this little pleasure to cut their too calm day.
At Giolitti, an elegant establishment created 120 years ago, a stone's throw from the Pantheon, an essential stop for travelers on the planet before the pandemic, "activity has greatly decreased," confirms owner Giovanna Giolitti, granddaughter of the founder. "The tourist groups, which sometimes came to a hundred, are no longer there, but also a lot of office workers in the neighborhood who have stayed at home by telework," she notes.
The establishment engaged in home deliveries during containment. "Each day suffices its pain", philosopher, serene, Giovanna, pending the reopening of the borders on June 3, green light to tourists.
- Deconfinement
- World
- Covid 19
- Coronavirus
- Italy