Miele del Doge is a family of beekepers that harvest organic honey in Venice. We are located on an island in the Venetian Lagoon North East, called Sant’Erasmo. It is the second biggest island by extention. It has been known for centuries as the vegetable garden of Venice. From the fifteenth century the duke Tommaso Mocenigo supplied his banquets with fruits, vegetables, wine and honey from Sant’Erasmo. It was a luxury and privilege only nobilty could afford. The tradition continued for all the Serenissima Republic period and Miele del Doge has rescued this heritage of Venice organic honey. Bees pollinate artichokes and saltmarsh flowers as well as different kinds of native plants from the lagoon, creating a unique honey.
The beeyard 
Barena’s flower
The hive management
The bees are free to perfom their own activities without being overworked, feeding on nectar and pollen which is their primary source of energy. Miele del Doge only harvest the exceed honey that the bees overproduced, leaving them with plenty of resorces for their nourishment.
The families are managed without using any harmfull chemicals or pesticides. Alternatively, we use new avant-garde techniques. Besides, by developing the strongest queen genetics, we naturally fight against illness and parasites, which are the number one plague of the hive.
The beeyard is intentionally kept small so that we can focus on quality rather than quantity. Therefore we do not guarantee an annual standard harvest. The quantity and the type of honey depends on the weather conditions and the different blooming of each season. All of the above have a huge impact on the hive development.
the super organism 
visiting the beehive 
the bee’s are left free in the wilderness of nature
Honey
The harvest takes place respecting the social dinamics of the hive. Because of that we do not use any harmful techniques towards the families.
The extraction of the honey is cold pressed by centrifugation. We do not use artificial dehumidifiers. The opening of the capsules (the sealing beewax that the bees use to close the honeycombs) is handmade with a fork, and we do not use heating cutting blades so the honey is not caramelized.
The honey then decants for at least a month before being put on a jar for sale and this process eliminates filtration. All of these procedures are time-consuming and reflect on the remaining honey, but preserve the integrity of the nutritional substances and the aroma. That is what makes our honey so special.
