Many Italian ice cream parlours in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are run by families from Val di Zoldo and the neighbouring Cadore. In just over a hundred years a small valley of nail smiths became a home of ice cream makers. My own family is one of them.
From nails to ice cream
For centuries the valley lived from iron. The nail smiths, the ciodarot, supplied customers as far as Venice. Towards the end of the 19th century factory-made nails destroyed the trade, and many families had to leave the valley to earn a living.
How smiths became ice cream makers is not entirely clear. The story goes that the first sorbet maker came from the neighbouring village of Zoppè and had learned the craft in Venice. Written records of artisan ice cream making from the valley go back to 1873. Sugar played its part too: in the 19th century the new sugar beet factories made sugar cheap and affordable for everyone for the first time. Only then could ice cream be made in large quantities and sold at low prices.
With an ice cream cart across the Alps
At first the men pushed ice cream carts through the streets of Austria and Germany in summer and came home in autumn. After the First World War these became proper parlours. By the 1930s there were dozens of parlours run by Zoldo families in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. After the Second World War came the great emigration to the German-speaking countries. In 1969 the ice cream makers founded their association Uniteis in Frankfurt am Main.
A life in two countries
The ice cream makers live by a typical rhythm: from February or March until autumn the family works in the parlour up north, and in winter they go back to the valley. Children often grow up bilingual and go to school in both countries. That is why many houses in Zoldo stand empty in summer and fill up in winter, and why so many people in the valley speak German.
Tip: the gelato fair in Longarone
Right at the entrance to the valley, Longarone hosts the Mostra Internazionale del Gelato Artigianale (MIG) every year in late November or early December. It is one of the oldest fairs for artisan gelato and has been held since the early 1960s. The ice cream families meet here before the new season. Dates are on Longarone Fiere.
Quick answers
- Why do so many ice cream makers come from the Zoldo valley?
- When the nail trade collapsed at the end of the 19th century, many families emigrated and became ice cream makers. They passed the know-how on within the family and the valley.
- How can I tell whether my ice cream parlour comes from Zoldo?
- Just ask. Many families are happy to tell their story.
- Where can I find out more?
- On our History page, at the iron and nail museum in Forno di Zoldo and at the gelato fair in Longarone.
Your local ice cream parlour may well have its roots in the Zoldo valley. Then it is worth a visit, in summer or in winter: discover the valley.