Oro Bianco

(IT, 2017, 4K, 52’)

A mystery surrounds the figure of Vittorio Amedeo Gioanetti, brilliant chemist, entrepreneur and freemason who turned Turin into one of the most important centers for the production of porcelain between '700 and '800. An entrepreneurial adventure wanted by the Savoy who, with the Vinovo Royal Porcelain Factory, wanted to challenge the other European courts in the field of applied art artifacts. Few years of intensive activities were enough for Gionetti’s works to caught the attention of Emperor Napoleon and later to be disputed by the most important museums worldwide (New York, London, Limoges, Turin, Geneva, Faenza), as well as by the most important auction houses. But what is the mysterious formula to produce porcelains so refined that we still don't know today? A team of chemists, historians, museum curators and professors talk about this extraordinary adventure in between entrepreneurship, art and mystery.

"Porcelain is a very special ceramic material. It is white, translucent, sonorous to the touch, waterproof, acid-resistant, thermal shock-resistant. The classic formula for porcelain requires 50% kaolin, 25% quartz and 25% feldspar. But the number of variants on this formula is very high, and during the course of the 18th century many recipes were experimented with. Much depends on the type of materials that one has access to, much depends on the technology of the oven, the knowledge that the workers have of the ways of firing the paste and so on.”
(Tomaso Ricardi di Netro – Curatore Reggia di Venaria)

The film received contributions from Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Regione Piemonte (Piemonte Doc Film Fund - Regional documentary fund - development December 2016 and with the support of MiBAC e di SIAE, within the framework of the initiative “Sillumina – Copia privata per i giovani, per la cultura”

FESTIVAL SELECTION & AWARDS