A few years ago, my younger daughter and a passel of her nursing student friends spent some time abroad, studying and visiting several European countries. While in Italy, they quickly established a routine which involved eating gelato at least three times a day (mid-morning pick-me-up, afternoon snack, post-dinner dessert). All of this, Jenny assured me, was part of her group’s humanitarian effort to discover the best gelato in the land. (A tough job, but someone’s got to do it.)

From Rome to Florence to Venice, they gamely tried all kinds of flavors, even in the coldest January weather. Most of it they enjoyed immensely, but I don’t think Jenny really got to try the truly best gelato anywhere until she visited Il Giusto Gusto (“the right taste”) in the town of Poggio Mirteto, northeast of Rome, this past fall with her parents.

Our friends, Mike and Sheri, were eager to share their friend Lorenzo’s amazing concoctions in his gelateria in the town neighboring our home-for-a-week in Selci, so we stopped in on our first evening in the area. Lorenzo is one of those young businessmen who clearly loves what he’s doing and has a passion for creating a great product with quality ingredients. He features only about 10 flavors in his case, made daily in small batches to ensure freshness. What you can find on Monday may not be there Wednesday, but anything you try (and he’s happy to let you try samples of any or all of them) is wonderful.

No fillers, binders, or artificial colors or flavors here. Lorenzo begins with the essential basic ingredients: milk and cream (from local dairies), sugar and maybe eggs. Then he uses fresh fruits (lemons, peaches, berries), nuts (he uses only pistachios from a grower he knows personally in Sicily — and not those phony, bright-green dyed ones) and pure flavorings to create an icy treat that is creamy, not-too-sweet and oh-so-satisfying. One of his most popular flavors is Giusto Gusto, made with Ferrero Rocher candies crushed into a vanilla base. Definitely to die for!

Gelato wizard Lorenzo of Il Giusto Gusto

We packed in a lot of touring around during our week in Italy, but we managed to make two more visits to Lorenzo’s gelateria before we left. You can be sure that if I ever get back to Rome, I’m taking a couple hours out of my day, hopping the train north to Poggio Mirteto, and getting my fix of the best gelato on Earth.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor