In the heart of Piedmont, while post-war Italy was laboriously seeking its way towards the future, a man dreamed and built something revolutionary. Adriano Oliveti He didn't just want a factory: he wanted to create a new way of living and working, where technological progress went hand in hand with social well-being. Forget Silicon Valley.
The revolutionary vision of Adriano Olivetti, an enlightened entrepreneur
When Adriano Oliveti took over the reins of the company founded by his father Camillo in 1908, he already had something extraordinary in mind. It wasn't just about producing typewriters and calculators: he wanted to create a new business model, where technology was put at the service of man, and not vice versa.
La Olivetti Company of the 50s was much better than the Apple of today: a cutting-edge company that combined design and functionality in ways never seen before. But there was a fundamental difference: while other companies thought only of profit, Olivetti he thought about the well-being of his employees.
Adriano Olivetti's vision was born from his direct experience: having worked in a factory, he knew well "the terrible monotony and the burden of repeating actions endlessly". He was determined to free man from this "degrading slavery". And in his own way, in the time he had, he succeeded.
A revolutionary social model
Unlike American company towns, created by corporations to control employees, Ivrea was more like a kibbutz1. The project went far beyond the simple construction of a factory: it was a real social experiment. Education, for starters, it was a fundamental right, with professional and cultural training courses available to all employees.
But that’s not all. Adriano Olivetti introduced benefits that were decades ahead of their time. Expectant mothers enjoyed ten months of paid maternity leave, when the norm was a few weeks. Employees had access to a state-of-the-art healthcare system, completely free, which included dental and specialist care. A program of was also planned subsidized loans for purchasing the house.
Culture as a pillar of the community
The vision of Olivetti included a strong cultural commitment. During the lunch break, the factory transformed into a cultural center: actors, musicians and poets regularly performed for the employees. The company library it was one of the best stocked in Italy, with thousands of volumes available for free.
The company regularly organized conferences, debates and film screenings. Artists were an integral part of corporate life: many of them were hired to work in the design department, creating not only products but also advertising materials and corporate publications.
Olivetti, culture was not an optional but a necessity for the complete development of the person. As he himself said:
The factory cannot only look at the profit index. It must distribute wealth, culture, services, democracy.
Buildings: Manifestos of Modernity
Il Social Services Center, designed by Louis Figini e Gino Pollini between 1955 and 1959, it was the beating heart of the community. With its ship-like appearance and the solarium on the roof “deck”, the building incorporated hexagons into its layout to create open spaces that foster unity and socialization. I am struck by how every detail was designed to promote employee well-being.
The Olivetti office building, designed by Hannibal Fiocchi, Gian Antonio Bernasconi e Marcello Nizzoli (1952-1964), featured a breathtaking internal atrium. A majestic staircase connected the three main blocks, positioned at 120-degree angles. Adriano Olivetti wanted the central space to create a sense of grandeur and unity. And so it did.
Factories: Evolution of Industrial Architecture
The Ivrea industrial complex was composed of four interconnected factories, each representative of its era. The original factory from 1908, in red brick, connected to the extension Part 1936, which in turn connected to the expansions Part 1949 e Part 1958. Each facade evolves and refines the previous one, reflecting the architectural capabilities of its era.
As Adriano Olivetti said:
The factory was designed on a human scale to be a tool for achievement, not a source of suffering. We wanted low windows, open courtyards, and trees in the garden to banish the feeling of being in a hostile, narrow enclosure.
Innovative spaces for the community
The Olivetti nursery school, built between the 1939 and the 1941 always from Figini e Pollini, was hidden by box hedges and protected from the street. The child-friendly architecture featured colorful facades, large windows, and outdoor play areas that encouraged learning through exploration.
Il Talponia residential complex, inaugurated in 1971, was one of the most unusual constructions in the city. Built almost entirely under a hill, from the street only glass domes were visible, jutting out of the ground like futuristic molehills.
The Study Center: a hotbed of innovation
Il Study and Experience Center, designed by Edward Victoria (1951-1954), stood out for its walls covered in a beautiful glossy blue, contrasting with white horizontal beams and vertical pillars. Four asymmetrical wings surrounded a central block, characterized by a rhomboidal staircase illuminated by a skylight.
Originally a training center for Olivetti mechanical designers, it now houses the headquarters of what remains of the company. It is a perfect example of how architecture could serve both practical purposes and aesthetic ideals.
The La Serra Complex: Culture and Innovation
One of the last projects realized was the La Serra complex, one of the few buildings of the company in the city center. Even in this case (posthumous) Adriano Olivetti's vision stands out in all its grandeur.
This huge cultural center included an auditorium, a cinema, a hotel and a restaurant. Built in steel gray with bright yellow details, It was designed to look like a typewriter, with hotel rooms jutting out from the building like keys.
Technological innovations that changed the world
For the kids who are not yet aware or knowledgeable, Olivetti It was not just welfare and architecture: it was also and above all cutting-edge technology. The Letter 22 of 1949 was the iPhone of the time: it revolutionized the concept of the typewriter. Its elegant design and portability made it a cult object: Ernest Hemingway he called it “a travel jewel”, while Thomas pynchon, Sylvia Plath e Gore Vidal they chose it as a working tool.
The real revolution, however, came in the field of computers. In 1959, the company presented theElea 9003, one of the world's first transistorized mainframes. To build it, Olivetti created its own semiconductor division and entered into a strategic alliance with fairchild semiconductor, contributing to the development of the planar process that revolutionized the production of integrated circuits. And then, the masterpiece of masterpieces: a tribute 5 years after the death of Adriano Olivetti, and at the same time the realization of his ideas. The first PC ever seen in the world.
The first personal computer in history
Il 101 programme (P101) of 1965 is considered the first commercial personal computer in history. Such an innovative product that the HP had to pay to Olivetti royalties for copying some of its features. La NASA He used it for the Apollo program, calculating the fuel consumption, trajectory and landing time of the lunar module.
Yes, that's right: the Americans were chasing the Moon with a computer designed, engineered and built in Italy. It's a powerful testimony to how cutting-edge the company was: and yet that was a beautiful swan song.
Adriano Olivetti and the Legacy of an Italian Dream
The premature death of Adriano Oliveti in 1960, coupled with the problematic acquisition of the Underwood, marked the beginning of the decline. Rumors of alleged foreign interference still circulate today, including the suspicious death (just a year after Hadrian's) of Mario Tchou, Olivetti's chief programmer, and American concerns about advanced technology in a country considered at risk of communism.
The text is another story, and many of you know it. Under the guidance of Charles DeBenedetti, the company attempted to adapt to the information age, gradually abandoning its socialist impulses. But in the 80s, global pressures had taken over. Ironically, the latest technological innovation from Olivetti was the creation of the first webcam in 1991, used in Cambridge (yes, it's true) to monitor… a coffee maker.
A lesson for the future
The history of Ivrea and the Olivetti contains a profound truth: the fate of a company and its community are inextricably linked. Adriano Olivetti's visionary ideals, born from his singular blend of humanism, entrepreneurship e intellectual curiosity, created a model of corporate responsibility that is still unmatched. Let me rephrase: a model that large High Tech groups less and less empathetic e less attentive to workers they will never be able to match.
Today, in an age of unprecedented technological and social turmoil, the lessons of Ivrea are more relevant than ever. And they are not lessons of history, but of the future. They teach us that innovation is not just about creating new products, but about imagining new ways of living and working together.
Because the question that has always been crucial (is it possible to reconcile the well-being of workers with competitiveness in a ruthless market?) has an answer. It has always had one, despite all the self-interested talk about competitiveness. And that answer is Yes. The example of Adriano Oliveti suggests to us that yes, it is possible.
And perhaps, more than possible, it is necessary today.
- A kibbutz is a collective community unique to Israel, which originated in the early 20th century. It is based on the principles of equality and sharing, where members live and work together, sharing resources and responsibilities. Originally focused on agriculture, many kibbutzim today have diversified into industrial and tourism activities. In these communities, everyone traditionally received the same salary, free housing, and services such as healthcare. Despite having undergone changes over time, kibbutzim remain an important part of Israeli society, representing a unique model of communal life.
To learn more about this topic, you can consult the Wikipedia page. ↩︎