Tartufo di Pizzo IGP is the world's first gelato to have obtained Protected Geographical Indication status. Created in 1952 by Don Pippo De Maria at the gelateria in Bar Dante in Pizzo Calabro, it is a hemisphere of hazelnut gelato with a heart of melted chocolate, dusted with bitter cocoa powder.
The preparation is strictly artisanal: the gelato is hand-modeled without the use of molds, and the warm chocolate heart is inserted at the center before being dusted with cocoa. Each tartufo is unique.
Pizzo Calabro, the "City of Gelato," boasts 14 gelaterie for fewer than 10,000 residents, and the tartufo has become the gastronomic symbol of the Costa degli Dei.
