Dolce Amore

Synopsis

Serena (Liza Soberano) is a young and beautiful Filipina woman who was adopted by a rich Italian father and mother when she was an infant. When she found herself stuck in an arranged marriage, she runs away to the Philippines, a country she had been fascinated by since she was little from the stories she heard from her Filipina nanny and the stories that her Penpal friend from the Philippines have been talking about. There, she meets and falls in love with her Penpal friend, Tenten (Enrique Gil), a poor and hardworking adopted boy from Tondo who was forced to take unconventional jobs for his family.

Main cast

Liza Soberano as Serena Marchesa-Ibarra / Monica Urtola

The female protagonist of the story. She is a Filipina who was adopted by a rich Italian man as an infant. She is raised as a 'princess', with several servants around her at all times, including a Filipina nanny. Despite her upbringing, she longs for a simple life, which her mother disapproves of. She is fascinated by the Philippines, from the stories she hears from her nanny and from her father who always speaks to her in Tagalog and later on reveals her true parentage. Attempting to escape her arranged marriage to her best friend, she travels to the Philippines to search for a young billionaire who can save her family's company.

Enrique Gil as Simon Vicente "Tenten" Ibarra

The male protagonist of the story. He is a sickly orphan who lived in an orphanage before he was adopted by a family. They lost everything after he falls ill, and he had to start taking unconventional jobs to get their house back. He meets Serena while doing one of his jobs, as a call boy, under the impression that she was hiring him.

Supporting cast

Matteo Guidicelli as Gian Carlo De Luca

The antagonist of the story. He is Serena's childhood best friend from Italy. He seemed to be madly in love with Serena that he will go to any lengths to make her marry him.

Cherie Gil as Luciana Marchesa

Serena's Italian adoptive mother and Tenten's biological mother. She was initially against the adoption of Serena, which her husband decided on without her consent. She also doesn't approve of Serena's wishes to live a simple life because she believes "the worst thing in life is to be ordinary".

Sunshine Cruz as Alice Urtola

A nurse and refugee in the fictional country of Askovia. She was separated from her husband and two daughters after an explosion during a war in the 1990's.

Edgar Mortiz as Ruben "Dodoy" Ibarra

Tenten's adoptive father and Taps' husband.

Rio Locsin as Pilita "Taps" Ibarra

A cook in the orphanage where Tenten was in and eventually became Tenten's adoptive mother.

Kean Cipriano as Alvin "Binggoy" Ibarra

Dodoy and Taps' eldest son and Tenten's adoptive brother.

Ruben Maria Soriquez as Roberto Marchesa

Serena's adoptive father who longed to have a child which was impossible for him and his barren wife. He raised her as his own and taught her about the Filipino culture, often speaking to her and telling her stories in Tagalog, since he himself was also raised by a Filipino nanny.

Andrew E. as Eugene "Uge" Urtola

Alice's husband and Serena's biological father. He was separated from his wife and children in the war of Askovia.

Sue Ramirez as Angela "Angel" Urtola

Serena's biological sister. She was separated from her sister after an explosion during a war in 1990's of Askovia.

Alvin Anson as Favio De Luca

The uncle of Gian Carlo.

Tetchie Agbayani as Vivian Dubois

She introduced herself as Simon's real mother.

Production

After the success of Forevermore, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil were once again paired up, a year later. They are joined by rapper Andrew E., who will be making his teleserye debut in ABS-CBN through the show. The show also marks the return of veteran actress Cherie Gil to ABS-CBN, playing the role of Luciana Marchesa. Aside from Gil, Edgar Mortiz will also be returning to acting, almost 10 years after his last show. The show was shot in the Philippines and in Italy. Filming in Italy began in early December 2015, when the cast headed to Rome to shoot some scenes. Scenes were also shot in other Italian cities, including Bologna, Florence, Tuscany, and Venice. Filipino-Italian actor Ruben Maria Soriquez, who plays Roberto Marchesa, had to help the cast with language.

Critical response

Just the start of the pilot week, people were fascinated about the plot of its first episode titled, "Sweet Beginning". According to spot.ph, "LizQuen's new telenovela doesn't seem like your typical telenovela, which is kind of a good thing." Also they added, "We watched the first episode to see if the show can fill the Forevermore-shaped role in our hearts, and we weren't disappointed."

When the story is about to fold its storytelling. Nestor U. Torre of the Philippine Daily Inquirer evaluated the plus and minus effects it’s had on its key players. On Cherie Gil "All too often, other tisoy stars stumble and fumble when they portray non-Filipinos, but Cherie’s approximation of Liza Soberano’s Italian foster mother in “Dolce Amore” is more convincing." While on Ruben Maria Soriquez as Liza’s dad "has also more than passed muster, so we hope to see him on local screens again after the show’s conclusion. As for second-lead player "Matteo Guidicelli’s own portrayal of Liza’s Italian best friend and most ardent suitor, the young actor similarly did well. Matteo’s character took a disturbing and even shockingly “darker” tone." This gave him an opportunity to play his “villain” card for attention-calling contrast, and he ended up as more than just a “third leg” in the series’ stellar support structure."

As for the show’s leads, "Liza Soberano is clearly the biggest beneficiary of its success. Her combination of telegenic beauty, youth, charisma and increasing stellar “confidence” has made her the young-adult female star du jour and on the local TV screen. To underscore and challenge her stellar promise, “Dolce Amore” gave her many different moods and styles to vivify—making her thespic task more difficult, but also enhancing its impact and success." In instructive contrast, "Enrique Gil hasn’t done as swimmingly, shiningly well because he’s generally opted to play it appealingly cute and boy-next-door for too much, too long in the show’s run. Much later in the series, Enrique did get a chance to show what else he could do, when his character was made to turn hard and rich and cold-hearted."