Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
makes it the world's best gelato as well) is
quite a testament to the Schiavons' pas-
sion for fresh ingredients and scrupulous
hand-mixing.
Just being considered the best gelato
maker in Bologna would be enough of a
coup. Bologna's other top contenders are
outstanding as well:
Gianni's
(via Monte
Grappa 11/A,
&
39/51/233 008;
via S.
Stefano 14/A,
&
39/51/238 949
), known
for its creatively named, far-out flavors;
Stefino
(via Galliera 49/b;
&
39/51/246
736
), admired for its dense chocolate
gelatos; and
Gelatauro
(Via San Vitale 98;
&
39/51/230 049
), which gets a special
nod for using only organic produce and
exotic ingredients like jasmine, bergamot,
pumpkin, fennel seeds, and cinnamon.
You owe it to yourself to stay in Bologna
long enough to try all four.
La Sorbetteria Castiglione, via Castigli-
one 44 (
&
39/51/233 257;
www.lasorbet
teria.it).
(
Marconi International (6km/3
3
⁄
4
miles).
L
$$$
Grand Hotel Baglioni,
Via
dell'Indipendenza 8 (
&
39/51/225445;
www.baglionihotels.com). $
Albergo Della
Drapperie,
Via della Drapperie 5 (
&
39/51/
223955;
www.albergodrapperie.com).
Ice Creameries
496
Heladería Coromoto
One for the Record Books
Mérida, Venezuela
When Portuguese immigrant Manuel Da
Silva Oliveira opened his ice cream shop in
this picturesque colonial city in 1981, at
first there was no indication that the sin-
gle-story orange stucco building would
become one of Mérida's chief tourist
draws. Most visitors to this western Ven-
ezuelan college town were outdoorsy
types, come here to ride the world's high-
est and longest cable car system, a breath-
taking trip over cloud forest to the summit
of Pico Espejo, 4,765m (15,629 ft.) high.
Who knew from ice cream?
Oliveira, a construction worker and for-
mer chef, started out with just four standard
flavors of decent but unremarkable ice
cream. But in his spare time, Oliveira began
to experiment with other flavors, starting
with avocado. It was an immediate hit, and
as time passed, he got bolder and bolder.
Eventually Heladería Coromoto wound up in
the Guinness Book of World Records, with a
roster of around 900 flavor titles on slips of
paper tacked up like a crazy quilt across two
shop walls. (Another wall is covered with
newspaper clippings and postcards from
satisfied customers.) A rotation of around
75 flavors are available each day at the long
glass counter; despite efficient service, lines
can move slowly, as each customer strug-
gles to choose just one or two.
Some of Coromoto's flavors, while
unusual, make sweet sense, like the Coca-
Cola flavored ice cream, or the pumpkin,
champagne, black bean, ginger, or orange
blossom varieties. But then there are out-
rageous flavors like garlic, smoked trout,
tuna, crab, sardine, avocado, onion, squid,
chili, hamburger, asparagus, or fried pork
rind. Most customers sample those just
for the novelty factor, then are pleasantly
surprised to discover that they actually
taste good. Part of Oliveira's secret is that
he mixes actual bits of the foods into his
ice-cream bases, rather than rely on chem-
ical flavorings. (Well, except for the Viagra-
flavored ice cream—that only contains
traditional aphrodisiacs like honey and
pollen, though there may be a placebo
effect in the name alone.) Since you've
