Giampietro Zonta describes himself as an (her)ethical entrepreneur: he always goes in the opposite direction because “if you follow the crowd, you become the crowd.” Alongside him — and like him — is his wife, Daniela Raccanello. Together, they founded the D’Orica brand in 1989 in Nove, in the province of Vicenza. D’Orica, which has now welcomed the second generation with Federico Zonta and Elena Valier, is itself (her)ethical: there are no employees but artisans; everything is sustainable, and every material follows an ethical and transparent supply chain.

The jewelry pieces originate with Daniela, who creates the prototypes by hand, experimenting with the materials. When orders arrive, the “goldsmith tailors” craft each piece by hand, one by one.

In the barchessa of Villa la Palladiana in Presina, visitors of ApritiModa will discover Treesure, jewelry made with silk thread — the same silk that, for centuries, brought knowledge and wealth to the Veneto region. They will also be able to see the silk-reeling machine: a unique specimen of its kind in Western Europe. Recovered from an abandoned workshop, it was missing about two hundred parts, which were rebuilt by craftsmen following the instructions of elderly mill workers.

The cocoons were sourced by D’Orica thanks to guidance from CREA, the research center and sericulture laboratory in Padua. The visit will feature a special soundtrack: the “DNA Silk Symphony”, composed and performed by Stuart Mitchell and Nicholas Caposiena on commission from D’Orica. They translated the proteins and amino acids of the silkworm into music — seven movements, just as there are seven evolutionary stages of Bombyx Mori, the mulberry moth.