The other day, I was walking around the Via Trionfale neighborhood (in the Vatican area) with some friends, just strolling, with no real destination. Honestly, it’s not a common area for John Cabot students to hang out, but it’s pretty picturesque, cozy, and definitely more of a residential neighborhood than Trastevere.
I have walked around the area before because I live nearby, but something that caught our attention that day was a green kiosk with a lot of people – and a lot is probably an understatement. We walked over to see what they were doing; I thought they had to be giving away something for free because of the amount of people. Unfortunately they were not giving anything for free, but they were serving sweet “granitas”. They looked D E L I C I O U S and apparently they are famous in the area.
As we got closer to order, I was able to see all of the work that was going on inside the little kiosk. A young man was peeling and cutting fresh coconuts and citrus fruits for the granitas, while a younger woman was taking orders and putting the ice in the cups, and another friendly woman was arranging the final drink with some berries and fruits, all synchronized. After a short wait, which felt much longer because my mouth was watering and it was hot outside, I finally ordered. I asked which granita was the best, and they laughed – apparently everything is good! So, I went for their specialty, figuring I couldn’t go wrong. Its name is “La Golosona”(roughly translated, “The Greedy One”), and from the name I thought it was going to be a sugar explosion.
Let me tell you something: it was totally worth it, but I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t found this place earlier. I have no idea what the main flavor of this drink was, but I can tell you that it’s sweet and refreshing at the same time, and that it has pieces of fresh coconut, orange, and berries that you can bite into.
As soon as I tried “La Golosona”, I knew I was going to write about this place, so I decided to ask the people serving for a picture. They told me that Maria opened the kiosk in 1933 and she personally ran the business. Now, the kiosk is run by her two daughters, Francesca and Gabriella, and their two grandchildren, Emiliano and Giulia.
This place has been serving Romans and tourists for generations and one of the nicest things is that it’s a friendly and familiar place. Here you get to see groups of friends, couples, and families – all together. Some of the granite specialties are La Golosona (of course), La Supermista, La Delicata, and La Dissetante, but if you feel like something else, they have dozens of different variations of flavors you can mix yourself, and the prices range from €2 to €4.50.
It’s really easy to find La Sora Maria! From JCU, just take bus n. 23 going towards Piazzale Clodio and get off at Largo Trionfale (9 stops); just a few steps later and you are there! As long as you’re in the area, you can also visit the Mercato Trionfale, a huge fresh market for fruits, veggies, seafood, and more – it’s worth the visit and is not far from the kiosk.
Thanks for reading my article!
Victoria Barreda de Alba
JCU Class of 2017
Hometown: Reynosa, Mexico
