The world-renowned cuisine of Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo provides the purity within the opulence of Venice’s controversial first shopping arcade, housed inside the ancient palazzo T Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

AMO’s identity aims to represent a diverse yet shrinking population within a traditional Venetian elegance but with a provocative, contemporary twist. In a subversion of the Venetian mask, one’s ‘true self’ is represented by an inverted mask of gold leaf—hiding material symbols of status from each portrait—leaving just the purest self.

Guests are dealt a tarot-like menu and guests’ perceptions of themselves are questioned by the random association of menu with diner. The ‘Menus’ are available to collect as a limited edition deck of cards, where virtue beats vice and the AMO card (meaning ‘Love’) takes all in a game called ‘Smaschera’ (Unmasking).