Antica Gelateria Zorro
Piazza dei Valdesi
A family ice-cream parlour in Piazza dei Valdesi, where Corso Telesio begins, opened by the Spadafora brothers in the early 1930s (1932 according to the City). A few classic flavours, handed down through four generations.
The story
Antica Gelateria Zorro stands in Piazza dei Valdesi, where Corso Telesio begins. It was founded by the brothers Natale and Santo Spadafora: in 1932 according to the City of Cosenza, while two 2024 reports put the first opening in 1929, with Natale coming from a soft-drink stall. Nobody has a sure explanation for the name: it is said that one day wafer cones arrived from Messina stamped "Coni Zorro" and that the "Gelateria Spadafora" changed its sign from then on.
The business has stayed in the family: after the founders came Giuseppe and Antonio Spadafora, then Franco, and since February 2024 his nephew Francesco Bozzo, the fourth generation. The ice cream is handmade and the classic flavours are few: chocolate, hazelnut, nougat, fiordilatte and lemon. In 2001 the City gave the shop the title "Gelateria di tradizione e qualità", because its product has been handed down from father to son without alteration.
What to look for
Take a cone in the square and look at the Mario Martire bridge, which replaced the medieval bridge known as San Domenico: the present one was rebuilt in 1948. Corso Telesio starts climbing from here.
In the story
Food & Traditions. Recipes that have existed for centuries, in the few places where they are still made the old way.
Before you go
Opening hours and entrances can change: check on Google Maps or on the spot before you set off.
The old town is explored on foot and has a few climbs: how to get here and around.
Sources
Texts built on public sources. Where sources disagree we say so; if you spot a mistake or have an extra document, write to us.
- Riconoscimento comunale alla "Gelateria Zorro" - Comune di Cosenza (15 maggio 2001) in Italian comune.cosenza.it
- Il gelato a Cosenza? La risposta è Zorro. Una storia iniziata 95 anni fa a Piazza dei Valdesi - QuiCosenza in Italian quicosenza.it
- Cosenza, nuovo corso all'Antica Gelateria Zorro di Piazza dei Valdesi - Cosenza Channel (6 feb 2024) in Italian cosenzachannel.it
- Storia antica e recente di piazza Valdesi e del ponte Mario Martire - Comune di Cosenza in Italian comune.cosenza.it
- Cosenza, la città dei ponti - Esplorazioni cosentine (L. Coscarella, 2017) in Italian esplorazionicosentine.wordpress.com
- Risalendo Corso Telesio - Esplorazioni cosentine (2017) in Italian esplorazionicosentine.wordpress.com
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