According to historians, gelato has very ancient origins. It is believed that the Arabs introduced gelato to the Western World through Sicily. The Greeks and the Turks were also known for preparing lemon-based mixtures that resembled sorbetto (sherbets). It was Caterina de' Medici who brought a Sicilian ice-cream maker (whose name has been lost) to the court of Henry II in France in 1533. It was another Sicilian, Procopio dei Coltelli, who opened the famous Cafe Procope in Paris, opposite the Comedie Francaise, which was patronized by actors, nobles and scholars such as Voltaire, who made enthusiastic remarks about the sherbets served at the Cafe Procope. Procopio's specialties were made with fruit juice mixed with shaved ice and flavored with jasmine or rose. Sherbets were thought to have a beneficial effect on the nervous and digestive systems, and were usually served between main courses, more precisely after the first few meat and fish dishes, at the sumptuous banquets of the 18th and 19th century. It wa only later that richer ingredients such as egg yolks, sugar, milk and cream began to be used, to make what is now known as gelati alla crema (ice cream).
Gelati are classified according to the ingredients used in making them. They are categorized in the following way:

1) Gelato—ice cream made in an ice-crea-m machine and contains cream or milk, sugar and egg yolks.
2) Sorbetto—sherbets containing fruit juices or crushed fruit and sugar, with the occasional addition of wine or liqueur.
3) Cassata & Bomba—These are molds of gelati of two or more flavors frozen in a mold. Frequently the molds can be lined with ice cream and filled with chilled creams. Molds may also be shaped flat, round, heart shaped. Molds may also be called "pezzi duri", when individual ice cream molds in small distinctive shapes of hearts flowers, geometrical, etc. are used. The forms are filled with the desired ice cream, closed tightly and frozen. The dessert is removed from the mold when ready to eat. If a wooden palette is placed onethird into the mold, when one uses the individual mold, it can be held by the stick for easy consumption.
4) Torta Gelato—Ice-Cream Cake. Any round mold can be used to prepare ice-cream cakes, but it must first be lined with parchment paper and chilled in the freezer before using. Using a spring mold is easier. More than one flavor of ice-cream can be used as long as the flavors are complementary. Meringue disks, candied fruit, sponge cake, or lady fingers savoiardi are often used in preparing these cakes, which must then be frozen for several hours. Once the cake is ready, remove it from the mold, place on a serving dish and garnish with whipped cream, candied fruit and chocolate shapes.
5) Semifreddo — Chilled Creams. Semifreddi are typical Italian desserts. They are prepared with an egg-based custard and whipped cream. No ice-cream machine is needed to make semifreddi; the basic mixture can be poured directly into the mold and put in the freezer for a few hours. Chilled creams may be used as filling for cassate and bombe, or can be prepared with fruits, syrups, chocolate, etc. Semifreddo can also be called spumone. All semifreddi or spumone may be served with an appropriate sauce. These range from a simple fruit sauce to a vanilla cream.
6) Granita — Granita (ice) is a very light, slush ice made with sugar syrup and either fruit juice or coffee. Unlike ice creams or sherbets, granita must be frozen into a pan of plastic or stainless steel with the syrup not higher than 1-1/2" up the sides. It should be stirred from time to time to allow the sides and the top to freeze. Churn before serving, so as to yield a lightly granular texture. Liqueurs may be added if desired. The sugar and/or liqueur will not allow the granita to freeze solid, making it easier to churn before serving. Granita is served in a long-stemmed glass. Some go well with whipped cream.