It's Nun of Your Business!

Ciao!

Let’s talk Gelato!

For starters, on this delightful dessert in Italy (and many other places), I am a bona fide weirdo when it comes to eating most desserts. I don’t eat pie, most cakes, only very hard-packed ice cream, and no creamy anything. So, eating Gelato was a no-go for me initially (I never had any on my trip in 1995). In the two weeks spent in famous Gelato-land, I had exactly one and a half little cups of it, though I know a few people who can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner since they exclaim it is soooooo goooood!

While strolling the uneven cobblestone streets of Rome early in the trip, with our Vatican (Sistine Chapel) interruptions due to the start of the Conclave (we saw plenty anyway), we also noticed many clergy people from all over the world - nuns, priests, and bishops. They all seemed more festive in their demeanors than sorrowful, since they were there for the election of the new pope, as their leader, Pope Francis, had died almost two weeks prior.

In fact, we saw hundreds of nuns, all dressed in the best finery, though not really in Rome for the new pope. From my research on the nuns in Rome in May 2025, it can be noted that while nearly 900 superiors of female Catholic religious orders were meeting in Rome around the same time as the conclave, this meeting was unrelated to the papal election process. Nuns do not participate in the conclave or vote for the Pope.

This probably explains their joy in munching on gelato and other delectable items we love from the Eternal City.

On our first evening, we searched for one of the most well-known gelato places, Giolitti, in the city centre. We happened to find it between the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. As my posse moved in to look at their offerings, I was intrigued by all the nuns in the place, who then walked out with huge smiles on their faces and gelato in cups or cones in their hands.

Without missing a beat, I lifted my camera phone and snapped several photos of these nuns having a great time in the city. I felt as joyful as they were, especially seeing them enjoying a simple scoop of this frozen delight. But whether or not they eat gelato…is nun of our business!

Ciao!

Terri

For the above photos of the nuns, I used the Prisma App.

Photo credit: Bill Tomoff (I am standing behind Don & Beth Tomoff