The Veneziana is the symbolic cake of the city of Venice; its rich ingredients, soft dough and irresistible glaze make it one of the masterpieces of Venetian pastry-making. Dario Loison embraced this sweet tradition to create his own Veneziana, enriching it with other precious ingredients and a wonderfully fragrant blend of spices.
Spices have in fact been linked to the city of Venice since 1271, the year in which Marco Polo set off for Asia and opened the so-called Spice Route. At the time, Venice was ruled by the Serenissima Republic, one of Europe’s leading naval and mercantile powers: intelligent and far-sighted, the merchants of Venice immediately understood the value of these precious aromas, creating and expanding trade between the Mediterranean and Europe.
L’Osella: the Coin of Venice
The Republic of Venice was governed by the Doge, a figure who enjoyed many privileges, including the special right to hunt in the Venetian lagoon; alongside this right, however, by ancient tradition he also had the duty to share the fruits of this activity with the nobles of the Great Council as a symbolic gesture of gratitude. The gift usually consisted of “oselle”, namely ducks, the most prized game. Over time, the ducks were replaced by a limited-mintage coin, which retained the name of “Osella”: from 1521 to 1797, the year the Serenissima fell, 275 examples of these coins were minted and given to the members of the Great Council every December.
The Osella thus became a highly exclusive gift, so much so that those who received one would often pierce it and proudly pin it to the lapel of their cloak.
The Republic of Venice was governed by the Doge, a figure who enjoyed many privileges, including the special right to hunt in the Venetian lagoon; alongside this right, however, by ancient tradition he also had the duty to share the fruits of this activity with the nobles of the Great Council as a symbolic gesture of gratitude. The gift usually consisted of “oselle”, namely ducks, the most prized game. Over time, the ducks were replaced by a limited-mintage coin, which retained the name of “Osella”: from 1521 to 1797, the year the Serenissima fell, 275 examples of these coins were minted and given to the members of the Great Council every December.
The Osella thus became a highly exclusive gift, so much so that those who received one would often pierce it and proudly pin it to the lapel of their cloak.
Fascinated by this extraordinary Venetian tradition, Dario Loison conceived a unique idea: to create an Osella to fasten the ribbon of his Veneziana, in the hope that whoever receives this gift, once they discover its story, will be charmed by it and turn it into an elegant clothing accessory, an evocative key ring or a nostalgic Venetian amulet.
This small tradition created by Dario Loison has been so successful that several editions of Oselle have been “minted”: beyond their intrinsic value, they are intended to spark curiosity and to serve as a tribute to the thousand-year-old and romantic history of the Serenissima Republic of Venice.
