Expo 2015 side events: ExpoGelato in Bergamo is the ultimate gelato experience

May 5, 2015

The classic, most artisanal Italian ice cream has its own fair: it’s called ExpoGelato and will be held in Bergamo from May 15 to June 30, 2015.

In conjunction with Expo Milano 2015 - the largest global event ever organized about nutrition, whose already famous motto is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, one of the most beautiful and less noted cities in Italy is gearing up to expand its popularity through a food-event that promises to be unforgettable.

The objective is to get to know and taste the typical artisanal Italian ice cream in an exclusive location: the Sentierone, the pulsing center of downtown Bergamo.

The event is sponsored by Expo Milano 2015 itself as a show/experience of pure edutainment aiming at one of the most loved foods ever: the ice cream, the “gelato”, a historically and genuinely Italian product.

Just as Expo Milano 2015, the objective of ExpoGelato is to show how the sustainability starts from the deep knowledge of foods and their supply chain. The fair is a true tribute to a genetically Italian product in its artisanal and regional forms, a showcase of its entire production from raw material to consumption and will show many different industries involved: agriculturedesigntechnologypackagingmarketing.

The setting of ExpoGelato was designed by Italian architect Francesca Perani and will represent a sensory, cultural and gastronomic route (Getting to know the ice cream, making ice cream, eating ice cream) while the visitors will have the chance to discover everything about the production of ice cream and, finally, to eat it. The frame of this entire food experience will be the Chiostro San Marta and its homonymous gallery, the Sentierone and via Crispi area, considered to be the thriving center of Bergamo.

Italian gelato is substantially different from ice cream, and not only in organoleptic terms. Its history dates back to the famous frozen dessert of Sicily, and even further - to ancient Rome, where desserts made from snow and ice were brought down from mountaintops and preserved below ground. The first ice cream machine is Sicilian, and was born in 1686 from the genius of Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, who perfected a tradition and, possibly unknowingly, turned it into a future industry. Even today, Italy is the only country where the market share of handmade gelato versus industrial one is over 55%.

In comparison to the famous American ice cream, Italian gelato is not only creamier, softer, and with a more natural taste. While ice cream has a minimum of 10% fat, gelato is made with a greater proportion of whole milk to cream and therefore contains 5-7% of fat. Also, it is churned at a slower speed than ice cream and it’s denser, because not as much air is whipped into the mixture. Its intense flavor is the result of the absence of substantial fat, which doesn't coat the mouth in the same way ice cream does.

Visiting ExpoGelato could be the perfect opportunity not only to take a bite at one of the most mouth-watering foods in Italy, but also to take a walk into an extraordinary city like Bergamo, too often forgotten as a main destination from visitors abroad.

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