Gelato is defined in the English language as a soft ice cream containing very little or no air.
Gelato is the extremely popular Italian version of ice cream and there are several things that makes it different from the typical American ice cream. Here are some of the things that make it different:
First, and foremost, gelato is much denser than the typical American ice cream. Gelato is denser for two main reasons. Number one: Gelato contains significantly less butterfat than ordinary ice cream. Whereas ice cream might be 20 percent butterfat or more, gelato typically contains more like 3.5% to 7% butterfat. Also, gelato is churned quite a bit slower and has a lot less air whipped into it than ice cream, thus producing a denser and heavier final product.

The other way in which Gelato differs from Ice Cream has to do with how much sugar it contains, with gelato having a slightly higher percent of sugar content. The fact that Gelato is more dense, its flavors are much more intense than ordinary ice cream which makes for an tantalizing dessert experience every time you indulge!
he history of gelato dates back to frozen desserts served in ancient Egypt and Rome simply made from snow and ice brought down from mountaintops and preserved below ground. Later, frozen desserts appeared during banquets at the Medici court in Florence, Italy.

The famous Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti is even said to have invented modern ice cream in 1565, as he presented his recipe and his innovative refrigerating techniques to Catherine de' Medici. She then brought the novelty to France, where in 1686 the Sicilian fisherman Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli invented the first machine for making ice cream. In the Roaring 1920s–1930s in the northern Italian city of Varese is where the first gelato cart was developed and Gelato started to become very popular. Italy is the only country where the market share of handmade gelato versus industrial one is over 54%. Currently, over 5,500 Italian gelaterie, or gelato shops, all over the world occupy more than 15,000 gelatai, or gelato vendors.