As part of the Piedmont Region project "The essential is Baroque", Palazzo Madama presents the exhibition Precious Silver, set up in the Atelier Room from 2 July to 15 November 2020. The exhibition, curated by Clelia Arnaldi di Balme, offers a selection of silver works from the collections of Palazzo Madama and traces the history of silverware in Piedmont from the early eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century.

The path begins with an illustration of the techniques for working the precious metal, ductile and malleable, and of the control systems established by the Savoy court in order to guarantee the buyer the value and quality of the artifacts. The oldest Piedmontese legislation dates back to 1476, but the edict of 1677 which strictly regulates the activity of the University of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths of the city of Turin and establishes the figure of state taster is owed to Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia Nemours . It is an official in charge of certifying the title of the alloy with a trademark, that is, the quantity of silver present in the metal with which each object that comes out of the city shops is made. The reading of the silversmiths' punches and of the tasting marks brings out the refined personalities of masters who mark a line of taste of absolute originality in the Piedmontese production of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.