Bologna's Ice Cream Museum

If there's one thing that's guaranteed to make me go somewhere, it's the promise of ice cream. Hence the whole year abroad in Italy. And conveniently enough, I'm spending my year abroad in the city which is home to the world's first ice cream museum.

Stepping through the gates of the huge Carpigiani Gelato University, I felt very much like Charlie Bucket, but Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory this was not. From the outside it could be any industrial factory; large, modern, and a not particularly pleasant off-white colour. When we reached the door, we were greeted by a statue of an Italian Olympic hurdler, mid-hurdle. A peculiar choice of mascot; the inscription insisted he was a symbol of 'enthusiasm of the future', but it looks more like he's running away from the museum... Not the most inviting of entrances, but then the allure of gelato was invitation enough, so in we went.

The inside looked much more like how you'd imagine a gelato museum, with brightly coloured decor (the round seats looked almost like scoops of ice cream), a video telling the story of the gelato (you can see it here if you're keen) and a gift shop selling ice cream-shaped everything. When you walk in, a glass wall allows you to watch the class of students hard at work perfecting their various ice cream concoctions while consulting complicated-looking ratios and equations scribbled on whiteboards around the room - apparently you really can get a degree in ice cream. Only in Italy.

Their courses are aimed at people who own a gelateria, but are open to anyone (I may need to consider a change of degree) and teach the art of ice cream-making in all its forms, from basic sorbets to artisan gelato, as well as the practicalities of running a business.

The actual museum is tacked on to the Gelato University. It's small, and a visit takes no more than an hour, during which our guide explained the yummy history of gelato. She focused mainly on how it is made; not only have recipes been refined somewhat since its humble beginnings as an Aztec treat made of snow and fruit juice, but the techniques used have become easier. Once upon a time, ice cream making required monstrous machines, 4-6 workers and constant stirring, but Carpigiani managed to scoop up profits with the invention of the electrical 'Autogelateria', soon becoming the world leader in ice cream machinery. Examples of their machines from past and present were on display, although some of the older ones looked better suited to illegal torture than creating gelato-y goodness.

It's well thought out in terms of display, with an array of photos, advertising campaigns and brightly coloured packaging from over the years alongside the tools of the trade to give you a taste of the dessert's history. It's a cute little museum, and entry is free, but to be honest in itself I'm not sure it would be worth the 40 minute bus ride from the centre.

Where it comes into its own however, and the real motivation for making the journey, is the variety of added experiences on offer, ranging from a simple ice cream tasting to a one-day crash course in making artisan ice cream. Having opted for the cheapest package - the tasting, at €5, we had expected to be given maybe a couple of spoonfuls of different ice creams. Instead, we were each treated to heaven in a cone; kingsize scoops of delicious freshly made gelato, in two flavours of our choice. Two months into living in Italy, and with the weather getting colder, you'd think I would have reached some kind of saturation point with gelato, but I never wanted that ice cream to end. It's official, Gelato University is the tastiest museum ever.