It may sound like blasphemy in a country celebrated for its artisanal gelato, but sometimes you may find yourself in a city or beach bar with only the commercial ice creams to choose from. Besides the fact that some are just plain good, industrial ice creams were, for many years, especially 20 to 30 years ago, undisputed protagonists of the summer holidays.

Eating an ice cream was synonymous with spending time with friends, carefree, in the piazzas, in the streets and on the beach. Some ice creams have actually reached iconic status, especially for those who grew up in Italy in the 1980s and ‘90s. Here are some all-time favorites.