Dolce is the next step in Elena Albertoni’s ongoing exploration of handwritten letterforms that started with her typefaces Dyna and Scritta.

It is an attempt to arrive at a more naturally flowing type of handwriting, striking a balance between the orderly and the informal, while taking a critical look at the possibilities and limits of OpenType.

Dolce uses OpenType functionality to achieve a strong sense of spontaneity. For more information please take a look at the Flash demo.

Dolce comes in two versions, the full font and a simplified version called “Basic”.

Because the uppercase letters of Dolce are lively calligraphic initials, they should be used only in combination with lowercase, and not in all-caps setting; to make it easier for the user, Dolce includes a special OpenType feature that automatically substitutes initials with small caps when words are completely set in capitals. The small caps set is calmer, fitting nicely with the rest of the typeface.

This feature and support for Central European languages distinguish the full Dolce package from its simpler version, Dolce Basic, which includes all the alternates and ligatures but supports only the Western character set and has no small caps.

In 2005 Dolce received the “Certificate of Excellence in Type Design” award from the Type Directors Club (TDC) of New York.