Walking past the piazza, children counted down from 10 in Italian and tossed their neon-colored bookbags in the air, celebrating the last day of school.

Several raced ahead to Cagli’s only gelateria, owned by Signora Bianca Baldelli, joining the throng of grubby faces and high- pitched voices demanding gelato.

A frazzled mother offered to buy several coni of gelato for her children and their friends, and then prompted them to decide on the two or three flavors. With cones starting at € 1.5, a customer can order up to three flavors, choosing a coppetta or a cono and optional whipped cream, panna.

Every day, Baldelli prepares the gelato from scratch, making a base that can be used for any flavor from milk, sugar, eggs, and cream. With so many flavors to offer, it is essential that she come in early.

“Despite the early hours,” she said, “gelato is not hard to make.“

Originally made with snow from nearby mountains and stored in a cold place--usually a basement, gelato is essentially Italian for ice cream. Due to the stringent measures to keep the snow from melting, gelato was considered to be a dessert only enjoyed by the wealthy. These days anyone in Italy and some lucky folks back in the United States have access to gelato, but this has not always the case.

In Cagli, you will be hard-pressed to find unsavory gelato. There are three places in Cagll that offer gelato, all located within less that a five-minute walk from one another. However, only one shop, the gelateria, specializes in gelato-making.

In the gelateria, about 25 flavors fill metal tubs underneath the large glass display case in the brightly colored shop. Often on this display case, finger smudges remain from eager children who drool as the gelato is scooped from them. Minutes later, they are content.

Two boys walk away from the Gelateria Dolcefollie, licking and slurping three flavors at once, one mumbling, “Che bella!” This is beautiful, in Italian.

One flavor, Puffo, stands out from among the rest of the muted gelato colors. Puffo, and Italian name for a Smurf, is a bright aquamarine blue with rainbow sprinkles scattered on top. It is targeted towards younger children.

Standing in front of the glass gelato case, with her arms at her sides, Baldelli remarked, “If [the gelato] is good, then people like it.”

Many people have heard and/or tried this delectable treat.

You don’t need to speak or understand Italian to say “gelato” and someone will point you in the right direction. In Italy, locating this icy cold, creamy treat is easy.

Just say the magic word.