Vear the first time in its centuries-long history, the Spadafora family of goldsmiths is spreading its wings outside Italy with a brand new branch on The Hague's Denneweg. "This is no accidental place," Monica Spadafora says in English with a charming Italian accent. "I may have come to the Netherlands for love, but The Hague is also the perfect international city for our jewellery. And the Denneweg is, as we say in Italy, 'il salotto della città', the city's living room."

In the shop at number 182, it literally shines and glitters with beautiful jewellery that oozes craftsmanship. Nothing understated minimalism, like most of her Dutch colleagues. Here, passion, emotion and craft of the south are embodied in gold and precious stones. "We come from Calabria, a region full of traditions and influences from all kinds of Mediterranean cultures. These are reflected in our jewellery," Spadafora explains. "This is about both symbolism and applied techniques."

The goldsmith and gemologist - who is also a lawyer - points to a portrait on the wall. "That is Gioacchino da Fiore, an important inspiration behind our company. As a monk in the 12th century, he was something of a prophet - Dante mentions him, nota bene, in 'La Divina Commedia'. His vision is that the Apocalypse heralds the beginning of a world in which there is only brotherhood. Perhaps more a universal than a religious theme, which he disseminated through fourteen beautiful drawings."

Seven-headed dragon

G.B. Spadafora's logo has everything to do with that: the seven-headed dragon that Da Fiore saw as victory over the antichrist. "Pappa rediscovered the story in the early 1980s. He used the visual elements in his designs." But the history of the family business goes back much further. "My great-great-grandfather's marriage certificate from 1882 mentions that he was already a goldsmith. And according to tradition, the family has been practising the craft since the eighteenth century," Spadafora said.

The young Monica was trained in the southern Italian studio of her father, who died two years ago, whom she calls "the Leonardo da Vinci of the family". "He was always looking for innovations. For instance, he single-handedly developed new mechanisms for wearing jewellery in different ways," she proudly recounts. "And he used medical instruments in addition to conventional tools for goldsmithing, for example, to make his jewellery."

In addition, Spadafora senior devoted himself to making imposing crowns - hundreds in all - which earned him the nickname 'goldsmith of the Madonnas'. His daughter explains: "Calabria is very religious, Mary is showered with jewellery there as offerings for healing or to ward off calamity. From all the gold thus collected, the church has crowns made to adorn the Madonnas with. All these individual sacrifices that together result in one crown: here too the theme of brotherhood is reflected."

Byzantines

Monica Spadafora is herself endowed with creative genes. To demonstrate this, she removes a necklace with white flowers of her hand from the display case. "Look, the flowers are set with micro pearls. I did not glue these, as is usually done, but sewed them on with fine gold thread. It is an ancient technique of the Byzantines that is still used in our region. When I recently came across this technique in a carpet in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, it made me emotional; so this is where it comes from!"

With another necklace, she illustrates how many traditions are behind the designs. "Similar necklaces with gold balls of filigree used to be given to the bride by the mother-in-law. As soon as she put it on, other men were not allowed to look at her, after all, she was taken. You see: jewellery is meant to tell family stories. After a death, women often wore a brooch with onyx to show that they had lost a loved one."

Although she feels that in the Netherlands, with its long history in goldsmithing and diamonds, there is much beauty on the market, something was missing as far as Spadafora was concerned. "Italian jewellery is well known here, but mainly from big brands. Instead, I want to highlight smaller ateliers, which work with better raw materials and deliver a higher quality of finish with handwork. This is why we are working with the international-looking Nardelli Gioielli from Campania, among others."

Spadafora

Creating new designs always continues, including for prestigious awards like the Venice Film Festival. "But my main goal right now is to make our story more widely known," states the determined Spadafora. "Until I came to the Netherlands in 2015, I was used to doing my work in Italy, where I have a big network and where people are familiar with our history. But thanks to my husband, who has lived here much longer than me, I am convinced that the Dutch are open to the unknown."

As if she is not busy enough, Spadafora, together with her three siblings - two of whom are also goldsmiths - is committed to a museum in her hometown of San Giovanni in Fiore. There, some of her father's crowns as well as his entire private jewellery collection will be on display. "All his life, my father collected antique jewellery, a total of 468 pieces covering 150 years of jewellery history," she says. The collection has been declared national heritage by the Italian government," she explains.

These are jewellery pieces that the famed goldsmith has been offered for sale over time. "Rarely did he remelt pieces because he saw their value. Although not all the materials are equally noble - there are jewellery made of glass among them - the craftsmanship is breathtaking and the significance is great." In the beautiful catalogue, Spadafora flicks to a page of rings on which there is a large 'R'. "That's the r of 'ricordo', or 'I remember'. Extraordinary, isn't it!"

www.gbspadafora.com