Alessandra Lancellotti

In 1983, Franz Paludetto acquired Rivara Castle at the foot of the Italian Alps. A century earlier, artists from all over Europe had gathered here to establish the Rivara School of Painting. We witness the story of Italy during the latter half of the 20th century.

Once upon a time, there was a castle on a mounting, with a man inside. The man placed all the conflict and all the beauty of the world inside the castle. His name was Franz. He came by foot from the Alps, leaving behind a history of violence, and he dedicated his life to the creation of a cenaculum for the arts to redeem himself from the trauma of fascism. Over the course of a ten-year story, as his latest young artist grows up, the gallery owner takes possession of her memories and approaches death.