Operina is based on a 16th-century lettering model of the scribe Ludovico degli Arrighi that he used in his 1522 instructional lettering book, "La Operina da Imparare di scrivere littera Cancellarescha." This book is considered the earliest printed examples of Chancery Cursive.

Rather than try to reproduce a perfect, smooth, type-like version of Ludovico's hand, which has been attempted in the past, the designer opted to leave in some rough edges and, thereby, create a look that mimics the endearing artefacts of quill and ink lettering on parchment.

There are three fonts in this set: Romano(simple), Corsivo(more complex), and Fiore(swash). Romano is the most subdued, it contains Roman looking caps and has lining figures. Corsivo is more elaborate, it has more decorative capital letters and an alternate version of the lowercase with longer acceders and descenders, and old style figures.Fiore, the swash font, is the most elaborate with the longest acceders and descenders.

This font is available from International House of Fonts.