As it is widely known the history of our gelateria - ulica Jasna 4B Pruszków - dates back to the times of the Roman Empire. The idea of making fresh gelato came from a very distant relative of the Emperor Augustus, a person named Paulus Bertotius in the year 17 Before Christ. A long-long time after the fall of the Roman Empire people still remembered Paulus Bertotius and started referring to him as „Piccolo Paolo” (The Little Paul) - because he was quite short and very young when he started making gelato for people. For miserable, extremely poor and sad people...

But how did this whole story happen? As we know from history one of the centers of slave trade in the Roman Empire was the Island of Delos (or Dilos). According to Strabon, the famous Greek historian of this era, during one single day thousands of slaves used to be sold and bought on this island. Nevertheless desobedient and rebellious slaves would be sent to another neighbouring island called Dilosbis. On this small island (which sank later in the sea) slaves were held in extremely severe conditions. The rule concerning their lives used to be very simple. It said „NO” to four essential human rights. i.e. „FOUR NO” or „QUATTRO NO” in Italian. NO to freedom, NO to love, NO to pleasure and NO to relax. In order that austerity and sadness could be really visible on the faces of the miserable Dilosbis inhabitants, the only food they had the right to consume was... lemon. Raw lemon.

But this is when Piccolo Paolo appeared on the Island. He came from Rome. He did need his reference as being a distant relative of the Emperor`s family to get access to Dilosbis. No one could ever do so before or after him. Not a single soul. Only the Governor and his army did have the right to be on the island. Piccolo Paolo planned to realize what seemed to be impossible: transform „FOUR NO” into „FOUR YES”, i.e. „QUATTRO NO” into „QUATTRO SI”. „YES” to freedom, „YES” to love, „YES” to pleasure and „YES” to relax. Evidently he could not act openly. He needed to be very careful and cunning at the same time. During his meeting with the Governor of the island he said shortly: „I want these rebellious slaves to suffer even more than they do right now!” „But how would it be possible ?” – asked the Governor. Piccolo Paolo answered with a malicious laughter (still pretending that he was on the Governor`s side) : „I want to make their only food, lemon ... extremely cold. Cold like ice.” The cruel Governor was somewhat stunned but very happy to realize that even more suffering can be caused to his slaves. So he approved the plan. The very next day Piccolo Paolo started working. Of course his real plan was still to make these poor people happy. He was given a workshop in the army`s warehouse and free access to the army`s provisions including all the lemon supplies. What he did was to separate lemon juice from lemon peel and freeze them – still separately - down to – 14 degrees (by today`s standards). Fortunately enough he could use the army`s ice blocks for this purpose. Oh yes, those famous Roman ice blocks! But... in secret he mixed lemon juice with sugar and some water (as well as one more ingredient which is still part of the family`s secrets) and then put this mixture back into the frozen lemon peels! Of course no one could realize visually this secret change which was in fact the first recipe of lemon gelato in the world! Sweet lemon!

Then came a very exciting moment: the first distribution of the frozen (and sweet!) lemon among the slaves. By that time – obviously – all the slaves had been fed up with eating nothing but lemon and often refused to take it. When handing over the lemon, which Piccolo Paolo wanted to do personnally, he was trying to make signs with his eyes and face to make people understand: „I am your friend, do not show your reactions when you feel this new taste!” A message which is rather hard to condense into one`s expressions of the face. (Just try it at home in front of a mirror.) However people felt some kind of natural confidence towards this unknown person. Yet some of them reacted right away when touching the ice-cold lemon. All frighetened they would drop it with a sudden move. So the soldiers standing all around took this as a sign of pain or fear and thought: „Here it is! Just take this new suffering, you, rebellious slaves!” – and they went away to report to the Governor that the action had been successful. As the intimidated slaves stayed without the guard, some of them shyly tried the strange lemon and then.... All of a sudden... as soon as they felt this new and – let us not be afraid of the word – heavenly taste... they regained hope for life in their hopeless situation. And they smiled again. And then... they smiled again and again and again. Piccolo Paolo who had to leave with the soldiers was looking now at these poor people through his window with tears in his eyes. During the next days more and more slaves would line up at „lunch time” eager to take their lemon. They were excited, impatient. And... having received their portion noticeably they were feeling happy, relaxed and... free in their captivity. They ceased to be hostile towards each other. They even came to like some of the soldiers. They just could not hide their emotions. Very fast - in their souls at least - the FOUR NO had been transformed into FOUR YES (QUATTRO NO into QUATTRO SI).

And very soon the phenomenon became suspicious for the Governor and his army. All the more that the slaves would ask for more and more lemon. Lemon, which they tended to refuse earlier. They were not far from being addicted to it. They were ready to work hard in order to get it. „It is absolutely outrageous!” – shouted the Governor one day when he was particularly in a bad mood and his slaves were smiling and.... singing all around the headquarters. „What is this all about? We wanted to cause them more suffering. Instead they keep smiling. What will they say about me in Rome!? I want one of my soldiers to taste that lemon!” They called Marcus Glacius, the army`s strongest man right away. Piccolo Paolo wanted to give him a simple frozen lemon which was still sour but the Governor grabbed another one out of the hands of a slave. Piccolo Paolo got scared like never before in his life. He felt this was the end of his story on the island. Perhaps the end of his life. As Marcus Glacius tasted the lemon he got overflowed by the very same feeling as the slaves some time earlier. An angel`s smile appeared on the face of this old, experienced and cruel soldier. And he started singing some notes of a song that he had heard from his mother when he was a little child. To general surprise he was singing shortly but... in a child`s voice. „Enough now!!!” – yelled the Governor. „Betrayal! Take him to the prison right now” – and he pointed at Piccolo Paolo. Still with an angel`s smile on his face Marcus Glacius replied: „Governor, let him be! The lemon is delicious. Our slaves work hard now. Like they never did before. So what is the problem? Why don`t you try this lemon yourself?” „What!? – roared the Governor furiously – „I shall never eat a slave`s food. You had better cut it out, Marcus! You might be my best soldier but I swear I shall send you in prison if you go on like this.” This is how Piccolo Paolo was put in prison on Dilosbis Island. But his fame went over to the continent and spread all over the Roman Empire. Paradoxically enough according to some historians this was the origin of the Roman Empire`s decline whereas some others count the beginning of it from the Reign of Augustus.

Of course one could write a whole book about Piccolo Paolo. We could analyze many aspects of his life. But now let us try to summarize it shortly: within the limits of „Piccolo Paolo as the founder of Quattro si gelateria”.

So having transformed „QUATTRO NO” into „QUATTRO SI” on Dilosbis Island he was put in prison. Thanks to his being a distant relative of the Emperor`s family Piccolo Paolo was not excecuted. Otherwise he would have died right after the fatal day when Marcus Glacius degusted the magic lemon. After some weeks spent to prison – where he was obliged to eat nothing but raw lemon just like the slaves - Piccolo Paolo was expelled from Dilosbis Island for ever. He left at night so that the slaves could not see him. He returned to the continent and arrived in today`s Toscana and Emilia regions to live not very far from today`s Bologna. He got married and had a lot of children. They opened a workshop of gelato named „Quattuor sic”. It was of course in memory of the short time spent on Dilosbis Island. Piccolo Paolo never ceased to be fascinated by the potential of transformation that a gelato maker can bring to a fruit or any other raw material: make a pleasant and sweet flavour out of something completely sour but keeping at the same time the characteristics of the fruit or make a creamy texture out of something that originally falls apart. „Be careful about the proportions” – he used to say. „Gelato making is just like life: seeking for the right border- lines. Permanently.”... Especially he liked dealing with lemon, then later orange, cream and pistachio.

Piccolo Paolo loved his children very much. He would teach them thoroughly how to make gelato but never thought of forcing them to choose this profession. He encouraged them to go and see how life is elsewhere. „You will not see this but one of your descendants will live in Central Europe.” How could he know this?

As for the episode that determined all his life later, i.e. Dilosbis Island, he felt a mixture of sadness and happiness about it. Sadness because he had to leave the Island after a very short stay. Sadness because he might have caused trouble to a great number of people despite his good intentions. But happiness because he could understand himself and make other people understand that the FOUR YES are inside us, in our souls. No need to go and search for them anywhere else. Piccolo Paolo passed away in the year 33 A.D. At the very same time Dilosbis Island, which had been deserted by that time, sank in the sea...

One more important thing to finish this story: On his death bed Piccolo Paolo whispered to his children: „All your life try to tell the truth. Always. Nothing but the truth.”

This was our only guide-line and this is exactly what we tried to respect in the above text. 🙂