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When it’s hot in Rome (and it’s currently HOT in Rome), gelato becomes a staple of the diet.  The newspapers publish articles letting the public know that gelato IS a nutritious food and it seems that every man, woman, child, and nun on the street is licking at a cone or digging a spoon into a cup.

Depending on your attitude, stopping for a gelato in Rome can be a simple thing or it can become very complicated.  There’s an endless number of gelato stores–some are good and others are much better.  If all you’re looking for is a cooling feeling in your mouth and your throat, than any place will do.

Here at the Compound things are more complicated.  We’re not willing to settle for just any gelato as we find some to be pretty terrible.  We won’t name names here, but our advice is to stay away from any chain with neon signs bright enough to light up a piazza.

For some years, our eCool team  was unable to choose a favorite gelateria.  Some of us joined the Obama girls in arguing for the old-fashioned Giolitti–shown in Susan Sanders‘ wonderful photo above–while others of us were able to ignore the snobbishness of the infinitely praised San Crispino long enough to enjoy their frozen delights.

In the heat of this summer, however, we’ve eaten a lot of gelato and we seem to be coming to a consensus.  The branch of San Crispino nearest the Compound has CLOSED during this sweltering August, so they’ve been crossed off the list.  We always love the old-fashioned charm of Giolitti (as captured in Susan’s photo above) but sometimes it’s just too much to wade through the sea of tourists for a taste of pink grapefruit sorbet.

So what have we been eating?  This summer the entire eCool team has become entirely enamored with Gelateria Corona at Largo Arenula 27 (there’s another branch nearby at via dell’Ara Coeli) which the Gambero Rosso guide calls one of the best 12 gelato stops in Rome.  It’s a tiny place.  The flavors change daily.  Don’t miss the mint, the vanilla, the infinite rotation of innovative chocolates, and in this heat, it’s hard to do better than the lemon and basil granita.  We’re off to get some now.