They were initially friends and pupils of the printer Giambattista Bodoni, although they ultimately parted ways with him to establish their own printing house and type foundry in 1791, in direct competition with their mentor.

Andrea Amoretti [it], the eldest child of Pancrazio, helped his uncle James to engrave the punches and both worked in the type foundry of the Royal Printing House.

In 1791, the Duke of Parma granted Bodoni permission to open a private printing house and the printer turned to the Amoretti family to manufacture presses, punches, and types for his edition of the Odes of Horace.

When he refused, they felt betrayed and broke away from him to open a type foundry and a printing house ("co' caratteri dei Fratelli Amoretti") in San Pancrazio, with the support of part of the Court that disliked the "foreigner" Bodoni.

flourished, as evidenced by reports that French imperial officials relayed to the Parisian Government, regarding the productive activities of the Department of the Taro, a newly formed administrative area under the Napoleonic regime.

The Saggio de' caratteri e fregi della fonderia dei fratelli Amoretti incisori e fonditori in San Pancrazio presso Parma (transl.

In 1880 the last became the sole owner and finally changed the brand name to 'Negroni'; subsequently this company was absorbed by the Nebbiolo Enterprises of Turin at the beginning of the 20th century and in 1924 ceased operations altogether.

In their native San Pancrazio Parmense, on the facade of the house that hosted the old workshop, there is an inscription of Professor Umberto Benassi from 1913, the year of the First Bodoni's Celebration.