Cameo Italiano

Shell-cameo carving in Italy centers overwhelmingly on Torre del Greco, a town on the Bay of Naples that built its reputation on coral and shell craftsmanship through trade routes bringing raw material from Africa and Central America. The technique, largely dormant during the Middle Ages, was revived in the area around 1800, and Torre del Greco's standing grew enough that in 1876 the town founded a dedicated School of Engraving on Coral and Artistic Industrial Design, formalizing training in a craft that had previously passed informally from master to apprentice. Torre del Greco is still described as the only place where shell cameos have been carved continuously for more than two centuries, and its workshops remain the source for most cameo jewelry sold as genuinely Italian-made. Cameo Italiano's pieces are carved by artisans working within this Torre del Greco tradition — using layered shell, commonly sardonyx or helmet shell, prized for the color contrast between an outer and inner layer, cut and engraved by hand to raise the portrait or scene typical of a cameo. The company sells through a small network of boutiques rather than department-store counters: two locations in Rome (Via del Babuino and Via Francesco Crispi) and one in Florence, at Piazza de' Rucellai, a small square that opens directly onto Via della Vigna Nuova in the city's historic center.