Serena 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, a poor and hardworking adopted boy from Tondo who was forced to take unconventional jobs for his family.
Cast and characters
Main cast
Liza Soberano as Serena Marchesa-Ibarra / Monica Urtola
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.
Episodes
Reception
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 localTV 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."
