Gelateria Perché no!... Artisan ice-cream shop in Florence since 1939

Welcome

Ice-cream Shop Perché no!…, in Florence since 1939 The artisan ice-cream made by all natural ingredients.

Founded in 1939, Perché no! is one of the historical ice-cream shop in Florence. The ice-cream is traditionally homemade every morning, hence fresh every day. The whole making takes place in our laboratory using only the best available, natural and carefully chosen ingredients. We do not use any coloring, preservative or emulsifier. Neither we use hydrogenated vegetable fats. Our production starts with milk, cream, sugar and eggs to give you a very high quality ice-cream.

It's difficult to suggest which flavour to try first but, while you are in the shop, you have to taste 'CREMA', cooked in the old way with lemon rinds and vanilla, 'PISTACCHIO' with natural Sicilian pistachios, and the other dried fruits tastes like 'HAZELNUT' and the so requested 'ALMOND'. Even the 'CASSATA SICILIANA', made with ricotta cheese and candy fruits, is wonderful. For greediest people there's good variety of variegated flavours like 'PANNA CON AMARENE' with black cherries, 'NOCCIOLOSA' with soft chocolate and hazel-nuts, and 'FIORDILATTE CON MIELE E SESAMO' with chestnut honey and sesame seeds, and others.

Otherwise the fruit flavours ('SORBETTI') are light because they are made just with water. In summer you can choose among many tastes, like 'PEACH, MELON, WATER MELON' and other season fruits. For the hottest moments of the summer you can try the 'GRANITA', made exclusively with fresh fruits with no colouring agents. The 'SEMIFREDDI' like the plain 'WHIPPED CREAM', remain one of the speciality of ;Perchè no!…, and up to today they are made in a pot with whips and the result is remarkable.

Days with special ice-cream flavours
⥀ Monday: ❝ Rose - Pineseed - Trifle ❞
⥀ Wednesday: ❝ Sacher torte - Rich cream ❞
⥀ Thursday: ❝ Cheese cake ❞
⥀ Friday: ❝ Apple pie - Mascarpone cheese - Mat-Cha green tea ❞

'Sorbetto' persimmon flavour
One of our ideas for lovers of fresh fruit.

Rose Ice-cream
An ice cream with a delicate taste sensations and perfumes details.

Honey and Sesame
Fiordilatte ice-cream with chestnut honey and sesame seeds.

Small delights
Many flavors and colors, to prove our quality.

The ice-cream Shop

Perché no!..., and so, in the fall of 1938, was born the idea of the shop at the same time the name it would bear: with an exclamation!

In via de' Tavolini, just a few step from via de' Calzaioli and Piazza della Signoria. There was an old shop, run by a swiss, that sold polenta and chestnut cake. Mr. Ugo Ravaioli, the founder and for decades the owner of Perchè no!…, saw in the ideal location for starting up his new activity. By 1939 the essential of the shop had been completed, and it was ready to open to the public; since than it has become one of the Florence's most refreshment spots.

. It seemed that the outbrake of World war II would threaten the great success Perchè no!… had enjoyed ever since its opening.
Paradoxically it was the very war to confer the shop almost legendary fame it enjoys today. If the shortage of raw materials interfered with the production of ice cream and whipped cream, Mr. Ravaioli's inventiveness and ability and his wife Maria's precious advice were equal to the task: there appeared a whole series of true "SPUMONES " based on egg whites and a cream made from apples. Maybe their flavours wasn't exactly that of the original products, but they did attract thousands of Florentines to Perchè no!…

After the war Perche no!…continued to be an authentic point of reference for ice cream…but above all for its " semifreddi". The interior of the shop was radically remodelled in 1950. Among other things, Perchè no!… was furnished with those pure onyx slabs that still adorn the walls. Using the same onyx, Giovanni Fiaschi, the last and perhaps the greatest of the modern Florentine masters of the art of mosaic, created a clock that is a true masterpiece of its kind and that has became the unofficial symbol of the shop.
That symbol that many personalities from the world of culture and theatre, political leaders and statesmen among the faithful clients of Perchè no!…have always acknowledged. In 1966 the disastrous Florence flood forced the shop to closed for a period. After that terrible moment has passed Perchè no!…took up again its by then generation-long efforts in defence of hand made ice cream, incorporating the inevitable technical advances but maintining the constant quality and genuineness that only tradition can guarantee.

In 1991, two Florentine friends, ex musicians, decided to take over the shop, which in the last years had lost some of its original shine. Thanks to the family unit of one of the two friends, a very able and efficient group has been created.
That is how Mrs. Paola and her two daughters Cecilia and Valentina, having as a constant engagement the professionality in the laboratory and the cordiality in the shop, rediscover the old and original recipes and start to make the different ice flavours, taking particular attention to the quality of the ingredients, reaching the bold and unmistakable taste, which is the main feature of Perchè no!… Even for restructuring and renovations works in 2001, the research and the use of material became such an important aim, that only precious materials had been employed, like the marble mosaic floor in different natural colours, the mosaic ornamental linings made of natural stones reassembled powders, whilst the old original onyx lining had been left and now "framed" has sign between old and new.

The Ice cream

Cream & Sweetness

Hazelnuts cream

"Panna" with black cherries

Mint cream

Milk with honey and sesame seeds

Lavander and natural rose

Small delights

Pistachio

Vanilla

Chocolate & Elegance

"Bacio"

White chocolate

Rum Chocolate

Ice cream cones

Coffee crunch

Sacher cake

Details

Fruit & Freshness

Sicilian cassata

Raspberry

Strawberry

Lemon

Persimmon

Kiwi

Latest News

Read More
Perché no!.. at Florence ice-cream festival 2012
News date: 23-05-2012
For this edition of the "Festival del Gelato" (23-27 May 2012) we are still in the spice theme (last year we presented THE ICE-CREAM "CREMA D'ORIENTE AL SESAMO") and offer our clients the "GINGER ICE CREAM".

Ginger or ginger root ....
..Read more

Close
Perché no!.. at Florence ice-cream festival 2012
23-05-2012
For this edition of the "Festival del Gelato" (23-27 May 2012) we are still in the spice theme (last year we presented THE ICE-CREAM "CREMA D'ORIENTE AL SESAMO") and offer our clients the "GINGER ICE CREAM".

Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family (Zingiberaceae). Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal.
Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.
The rhizome has a noticeable antinausea, antiemetic (against vomiting), antipyretic and anti inflammatory
Read More
Firenze gelato festival
News date: 22-05-2012
Gelato equals Firenze Gelato Festival.
In May, Florence, the Tuscan capital city which is the destination of millions of tourists every year, hosts in its beautiful squares the best artisan gelato makers of Italy, while the commercial 100% Italian gelato ....
..Read more

Close
Firenze gelato festival
22-05-2012
Gelato equals Firenze Gelato Festival.
In May, Florence, the Tuscan capital city which is the destination of millions of tourists every year, hosts in its beautiful squares the best artisan gelato makers of Italy, while the commercial 100% Italian gelato is protagonist with Sammontana.
Cultural and educational paths and a rich calendar of events, conferences and meetings are the setting of the Villages of Gelato.

The third Firenze Gelato Festival edition will be held in May from 23 to 27, 2012.
View our friends gallery on Flickr
News date: 01-03-2012
We collected the photos taken by our friends, customers and lovers of ice cream, which were published in the most important photography "social media".

Open Flickr

Reviews about Perché no!...

Open url Link
LE FIGARO JUNE 2012 Article on French newspaper "Le Figaro"

Open document
Open url Link
NIGELLA LAWSON IN OUR SHOP... Nigella Lawson, English food writer, journalist and broadcaster, has been in our shop for an episode of her food series.

Open document
Open url Link
NIGELLA EXPRESS Dedication on her book...

Open document
Open url Link
TOP 10: BEST PLACE TO EAT GELATO Globe-trotters can experience flavors that go far beyond the standard chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. Experience eel ice cream in Japan or GREEN TEA IN FLORENCE...

Open document
Open url Link
American writers Two American writers, Greer Gilman and Jo Walton, came in to taste our ice cream and they have kindly given copies of their books and a beautiful dedication

Open document
Open url Link
Alessandro Schwed, writer Alessandro Schwed wrote about us in his book, La scomparsa di Israele

Open document
Open url Link
Geobeats video You can watch a video about our ice cream shop...
Click on the + button to see it!
Open url Link
FInd Us on Tripadvisor The ice cream, why not! ... Florence is on TripAdvisor!
Read our reviews ..
Click on the + button to open tripadvisor.com!
Open url Link
Find us on google maps! FInd Us on Google maps
and reed all the comments and suggestions of the gmaps users!
Open link .. by click on the + button.