In the late 60 here is the opening of the ‘Gold Jewelry Dogale precious shop near the famous Bridge of Sighs Ruga Saint Apollonia 4318, just off the deck to boot camp canonical Saints Filippo & Giacomo, even the sons since 1980 placed in the undertaking to continue with the tradition of handmade Venetian jewelry. It ‘can get from Piazzale Roma with the ACTV public transport service route in about 22 minutes.The private taxi service can take you close to our shop in the side channel of the former rectory Jesurum.

Typical Venetian jewels, the Moretti… but if you have a taste for mystery, also talismans. The blackamoor-shaped pins that are produced and sold in our shop are jewels of the Venetian goldsmith tradition, in fact they are born from the original synthesis, made in Venice, of various cultural suggestions. The origins of the Moretti date back to very distant times, when Saracen pirates infested the coasts of Dalmatia. In the Hellenistic age in Fiume, in Istria, gold and black and white enamel earrings were produced, with the function of a powerful talisman. During the centuries of great fear of the Ottoman Turks, the terrible law of the strongest was in force, the populations of the coast always wore the moretti and donated them to the churches as a sign of thanks for having escaped danger. From here the amulet came to Venice, not to exorcise attacks from the sea, but to represent the Turkish pirate defeated by Venice and its Doges, celebrated as a triumph and reinterpreted as a rich jewel in gold and precious stones. One of the most famous references to the Moors is that of Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice. The protagonist is in fact a Moor, a general in the Venetian army. In Venice the Moors are almost everywhere, there is also the Campo dei Mori. Coats of arms of families with the surname Moro or with depictions of the faces of “Moors” in Venice are common. The clock tower in Piazza San Marco for example has 2 Moors who strike the hours (even if in reality the two characters are two shepherds probably later called Moors with the oxidation of the bronze they are made of) in the early sixteenth century in Venice several paintings were painted in which figures of Muslims appear such as those of Vittore Carpaccio, it is curious to discover how Moresco, Moreschi, Morone, Moro, Moretto, Moretti, Morello, Moroni Dal Moro and so on from nicknames these become real surnames, in Trento there is a town called Mori! Returning to the jewels with the Moors, they are objects that speak of our city, in our century the imagination of the Venetians has given rise to infinite variations on the theme: bust and turban have become a stage where the best techniques learned from the local goldsmith are represented with perforations, engravings, filigrees, and also with beautiful fired enamels. The craftsman using the power of the heat of the oven, and an ancient technique colors the jewels in the most varied shades among the most beautiful colors without a doubt red, green or blue the heads are almost always in ebony wood. 2025 BREAKING NEWS: A very recent study by the art historian Anastazja Buttitta opens a new scenario on the origin of the Moretti: The Moors, the historian explains, are a symbol of openness to different cultures, Venice and the Mediterranean as a great bridge between Europe and the Eastern world. The study in particular indicates that the Moors constitute the evolution of the image of Balthazar the black magician king, also known as the King of Arabia. Anastazja Buttitta together with Serena Franzon has recently published a book entitled “the Venetian Renaissance jewel” whoever wishes to delve deeper into this topic will find in this publication very precious information and focused precisely on Venetian blackamoors. The Moretti have also been appreciated by people of international stature such as Grace Kelly, Elena of Spain, Ernest Hemingway, Elton John, Diana Vreeland, in recent times the style icon Iris Apfel wore them who loved models rich in pearls. André Leon Talley, Anna Wintour’s right-hand man who passed away in 2022, the only black fashion journalist and artistic director of Vogue often wore an imposing blackamoor bust brooch at fashion shows. The late Financier Robert Zellinger de Balkany was a passionate “Fan” of ours and every time he arrived with his wonderful Yacht Marala he tastefully chose his jewels: Moretti and “Cavalli”, because he was also a Polo champion! Actress Julia Jäger instead wears one of our Mori sets in the 2020 German TV series Inspector Brunetti. And currently? Moretti jewels, in addition to being talismans, are messengers of love and continue to be a coveted object of elite collecting. Simple tourists, incognito stylists, or loyal Venetians regularly visit our Atelier, many are demanding and capricious customers; even if the city is no longer that of the legendary 50s/70s, princes and dukes, marquises and countesses of the European aristocracy still pass through the shop, to fulfill a secret whim, or make a stylish gift.

The jewels with skulls that we produce in our Atelier are absolutely exclusive models; almost all of them are inspired by the memento mori theme. Those who wear these jewels do not do so for a macabre taste, but to remember the transience of life and to savor every moment of their existence. They are jewels of great communicative power that represent a warning to reflect on the transience of fortune and the brevity of one’s essence and also on the vanity of human ambitions.
They are an indication to live your life well and having the ability to do so, to be generous, not only with yourself but also towards others, seizing every moment; it is not a trivial matter, every left is lost, but something much more conscious and not superficial. Advice to the rich and very rich: try not to live to become the richest in the cemetery! Among our jewels with skulls, we also include the “Joyas Calaveras” which are of Mexican tradition where the cult of the dead is a deeply felt ancient anniversary, the “Dias de los muertos” festival is famous. These Mexican skulls, especially the imaginative rings, are an explosion of colors, studded with precious stones and decorated with flowers and crosses, signifying joy of life. The “Calaveras” also remind us to celebrate our life and our mortality, to look to the past but also to the future, while remaining in the present with wisdom! Wearing Calaveras dia de los muertos jewelry and Memento Mori they remind us to live every moment to the fullest and have love for life. We can say without a doubt that these precious objects express the cultural and aesthetic universality of a theme that is not necessarily funereal but rather an evergreen ironic fashion, which never goes out of fashion, for the man who cannot escape death… The skull seems tell you: don’t run, but hurry…”tempus fugit” and therefore we can assert not only memento mori but also memento vive! Even if you reverse the elements, in the end the meaning does not change. In 1989, one of our customers asked to engrave the following epitaph on a mighty gold skull ring: Who I was, you are, who I am, you will be.