Turin's passion for chocolate

The bond between Turin and chocolate was born in 1559 when the first cocoa beans arrived in Turin brought by the head of the Spanish army of Charles V, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy called "Iron Head". 
But it was only in 1606 that the recipe of the cocoa beverage and its production process reached Italy thanks to the explorer Francesco Carletti. 
In 1678 a certain Giovanni Battista Ari* was the first to get permission from the House of Savoy to practice the art of chocolate making, thus starting the renowned production of chocolate in Turin. History continued to be full of successes and innovations; in 1780 chocolate producers in Turin moved to the banks of the River Dora to make use of hydraulic energy, thanks to advanced machinery.
Thanks to these mechanical processes, the passage from liquid chocolate to a soft paste took place in 1800. A few decades later, the first mechanical factory for the production of chocolate was inaugurated in Turin in 1826, at the same time the famous gianduja chocolate was invented. The process was short and in 1865 the first wrapped gianduiotto chocolate was born, a culinary symbol of the city of Turin.

It is from this pioneering spirit that Gioari was established in Turin in 1986. A project inspired by the in-depth knowledge of the culture of chocolate producing countries and capable of offering a technologically advanced product combined with a constant search for highly recognizable aromatic profiles and particularly refined blends. The production process that starts with the roasting of the cocoa bean focuses on the quality of the raw materials and allows Gioari to offer a range of unique and surprising professional products that can be used in a wide range of applications.

*“Cultura Cioccolato” Chiriotti Editori 11/2014