Ivrea, the Olivetti industrial city

In 2018 Ivrea became a UNESCO World Heritage site as the industrial city of the 20th century. It is a unique place: an open-air museum of modern architecture where factories, homes, nurseries and libraries were designed by some of the greatest Italian architects of the time.

I have loved this story for years. Adriano Olivetti believed that a company should create not only profit, but also beauty, culture and well-being for the people who work there — and for the whole community around it. Walking along Corso Jervis, we will see how that vision became glass, brick and concrete.

Together we will discover the ICO workshops, the social services centre, Talponia and the other buildings that made Ivrea a laboratory of innovation. Along the way I will tell you about typewriters and computers, legendary advertising posters and the people who lived this adventure.

It is the perfect experience for anyone curious about design, architecture, business culture and corporate social responsibility — a story that feels surprisingly contemporary.