Gianadrea Pipolo fears that soaring bills may force his ice-cream shop, opened by his grandfather in 1929, to close
Pistachio, hazelnut and forest fruit - the flavours may have evolved and the recipes changed over the 93-year history of the Pipolo ice-creamery, but its mouth-watering presence on the seafront in Trieste has been a constant.
Now, though, the energy crisis may finally force the outlet to close.
Beside the tubs of creamy delights, a poster on the wall shows the monthly electricity bill here: €4,483.45 (about £3,880) for August 2021, jumping to €15,539.18 a year on.
Above the figures are the words: "Io Non Voto." ("I'm not voting.")
Ahead of Italy's election next week, shop owner Gianadrea Pipolo believes that politicians need to focus more on the cost-of-living emergency.
"We can manage for another two or three months, but after that, we'll stop paying the bills - because it's unsustainable," he says.
"They'll cut us off and we'll have to shut down. It would break my heart - especially after the problems of the pandemic.
"My grandfather opened this place in 1929. We survived the Second World War and everything else - but now, the possibility of closing because of an electricity crisis hurts a lot."
An hour's drive north of Trieste reveals what is behind that worsening crisis.
Inside a tunnel dug into lush mountains in Tarvisio, near Italy's border with Austria, two iron pipes rise from the ground carrying a precious commodity on which Europe has relied for decades: Russian gas, the leverage that Vladimir Putin has had in the West. But it is tapering off.
Sanctions against Russia have forced Gazprom to restrict supply through to Europe's pipelines, including in Tarvisio
Before Russia began its large-scale military attack in Ukraine, 40% of Italy's gas came through this pipeline, with Italy the EU's second-largest importer. Now it has dropped to around 18%, as Europe weans itself off its dependence on Moscow.
That diversification, and the West's sanctions against the Kremlin, have prompted Gazprom, Russia's state energy provider, to restrict supply through Europe's pipelines, including in Tarvisio.
The drastic drops in Russian gas have pushed up prices across the world, and the cost-of-living crisis is now at the centre of Italy's upcoming election.
"The main entry point for gas is no longer here, but in Sicily, with gas coming from Algeria," says Simone Nobili of SNAM, the operator of Italy's gas networks. "The Italian government is trying to diversify the supply as much as possible, not only through pipes but also through liquefied natural gas (LNG)."
Recent contracts with Algeria have now made it Italy's biggest gas supplier, supplanting Russia.
Other sources, including Azerbaijan and another pipeline transporting gas from Norway and the Netherlands, have also increased. And Italy is investing more in regasification vessels that receive LNG mainly from Qatar and the US.