I worked in the factory. I remember it well even from the one photo. The factory had a Winchester Mystery House air about it. It had been added to many times over the decades. So it was more like Rome and less like Turino with no obvious way to get from here to there. They made typewriters there well into the 80s. Olivetti had commuter buses in Ivrea and Milan well before Google buses were invented. They had wine at the company cafeteria for lunch. It was the 80s and I would bet my boss an ice cream on NBA games which I already knew the scores of from an email. Hotel La Serra was structured like a typewriter. A river runs through Ivrea and it had a kayaking center.
Yank working there via the Olivetti ATC in Cupertino. Worked on Unix and other stuff. There were quite a few Brits there doing tech writing. A couple of Australians as well. It was very cosmopolitan but it was a deserted city in August. There was even a big concert before everyone exited off on vacation.
Many (most?) of the Italians did not like it but it was work. They really wanted to be home. Same with Milan, a city to have a job in but then you'd go home on weekends if you could.
My granddad worked in Olivetti's Buenos Aires factory in the 1960s (he had made foreman due to knowing enough Piedmontese to impress upper management). Workers there had access to:
- Worker's social club, complete with pool
- subsidized housing at cost, rent-to-own
- a wholesale "majorista" style shop where they'd buy in bulk and sell to workers' families at cost.
Say what you want about the fault of paternalism, at least they were thinking about employee welfare. Argentina's economy sucked at the time and they had to close. The factory now produces cigarettes under a phillip morris subsidiary (iirc).
I finally got around to visiting here last spring and it was really interesting. It was beautiful and eerie and a bit dystopian in how everything is abandoned or at least partially abandoned (some buildings are still partially in use). Note that you need to book a tour to go inside any of the buildings, and make sure to choose a day when the tour is in your preferred language. The tour included very detailed explanations of the history and philosophy behind the buildings and the town -- it was also quite long (~4 hrs IIRC). I'd also recommend going into the actual town of Ivrea if you make it out there.
I worked in the factory. I remember it well even from the one photo. The factory had a Winchester Mystery House air about it. It had been added to many times over the decades. So it was more like Rome and less like Turino with no obvious way to get from here to there. They made typewriters there well into the 80s. Olivetti had commuter buses in Ivrea and Milan well before Google buses were invented. They had wine at the company cafeteria for lunch. It was the 80s and I would bet my boss an ice cream on NBA games which I already knew the scores of from an email. Hotel La Serra was structured like a typewriter. A river runs through Ivrea and it had a kayaking center.
I'd love to go back and take a tour.
Lovely reminiscences. Are you a Yank? What did you do there?
Yank working there via the Olivetti ATC in Cupertino. Worked on Unix and other stuff. There were quite a few Brits there doing tech writing. A couple of Australians as well. It was very cosmopolitan but it was a deserted city in August. There was even a big concert before everyone exited off on vacation.
Many (most?) of the Italians did not like it but it was work. They really wanted to be home. Same with Milan, a city to have a job in but then you'd go home on weekends if you could.
Fascinating to hear these details. Thanks.
My granddad worked in Olivetti's Buenos Aires factory in the 1960s (he had made foreman due to knowing enough Piedmontese to impress upper management). Workers there had access to:
- Worker's social club, complete with pool
- subsidized housing at cost, rent-to-own
- a wholesale "majorista" style shop where they'd buy in bulk and sell to workers' families at cost.
Say what you want about the fault of paternalism, at least they were thinking about employee welfare. Argentina's economy sucked at the time and they had to close. The factory now produces cigarettes under a phillip morris subsidiary (iirc).
Related:
Utopia, Abandoned: The Olivetti Town - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20864548 - Sept 2019 (24 comments)
I finally got around to visiting here last spring and it was really interesting. It was beautiful and eerie and a bit dystopian in how everything is abandoned or at least partially abandoned (some buildings are still partially in use). Note that you need to book a tour to go inside any of the buildings, and make sure to choose a day when the tour is in your preferred language. The tour included very detailed explanations of the history and philosophy behind the buildings and the town -- it was also quite long (~4 hrs IIRC). I'd also recommend going into the actual town of Ivrea if you make it out there.
Ivrea is beautiful. I've been there multiple times for the annual orange-throwing festival. Incredibly fun and recommended.
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