How Ivrea’s “Living Heritage” is Building the City’s Future ‒ Cities of Tomorrow
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As part of the “Cities of Tomorrow” series, Philea spoke with Matilde Trevisani, Institutional Relations and Partnership Manager, Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, to learn more about the foundation’s efforts to achieve Ivrea’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site – the first time a contemporary, living site in Italy has received this designation.
Many of the global challenges we face play out at the level of cities. These complex, interconnected and dynamic ecosystems are where many social, economic, environmental and political factors converge. This series, curated by Philea’s Funders Forum on Sustainable Cities, showcases philanthropic initiatives that aim at making cities sustainable.
Introduction
Designed by leading Italian urban planners and architects, Ivrea represents an atypical model of a modern industrial city, providing an alternative answer to the questions raised by the rapid evolution of the industrialisation processes of the 20th century. The presence of Olivetti’s factory and the actions and initiatives conceived by Adriano Olivetti throughout his life were determinant in creating a fertile ground for ideas and exchanges within the contemporary international labour cultures and in shaping and developing Ivrea. On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Olivetti factory (1908-2008), the UNESCO nomination process of Ivrea as an industrial city was launched. In 2018, Ivrea was the first Italian city to receive UNESCO’s recognition as a site of industrial heritage of the 20th century to protect it and ensure its value could serve the future.
Fondazione Adriano Olivetti was established in 1962, soon after the death of Adriano Olivetti. Born in Ivrea, Adriano Olivetti was an industrialist who had broad cultural and political interests which he applied to the Olivetti company, believing it should have an important social and cultural role in the community. The foundation was created with the aim of safeguarding his legacy through a clear mission to develop and promote cultural, social and general activities directed towards the education of citizens in harmony with the societies in which they live.
| City | Ivrea, Italy |
| Period | 2008-2018 |
| Primary constituents | Citizens and stakeholders of Ivrea |
| Partners and collaborations | UNESCO, local and regional authorities, Italian Ministry of Culture, other foundations, private companies. |
When did Fondazione Adriano Olivetti start to work at the city level, and what was the motivation behind it?
Matilde Trevisani: Our focus on the city is directly linked to the foundation’s DNA, and not just from a programmatic point of view, but also from a mission and identity perspective. Indeed, among many other things, Adriano Olivetti was a pioneer in urbanism. During his life, he served as the president of the Italian Institute of Urbanism where he promoted several urban plans. In Ivrea, he initiated the design and construction of new industrial buildings, offices, employee houses, canteens and kindergartens, giving rise to a complex system of integrated social services, contributing to making Ivrea an alternative model for an industrial city.
This is why the theme of a human-scale city is very dear to the foundation, as it comes from way back in our history. We’ve always paid attention to this topic, but it was in 2008, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the creation of Olivetti’s factory, when the theme of the city, and specifically the case study of Ivrea, became central during our celebrations. All the reflections around the city, resulting from both these celebrations and the history of the foundation, concretised into a project, namely the UNESCO nomination of Ivrea as a industrial heritage site. It was a first for Italy, being home to the largest number of UNESCO world heritage sites in the world, to nominate a contemporary, living heritage.
We often think of UNESCO recognition as something related to a historical site, something that has to do with the past to preserve its characteristics intact rather than a living place oriented to the future. What’s unique about nominating a living heritage site and why was this nomination important for the future of Ivrea?
The importance of a UNESCO nomination of this kind is twofold: on the one hand, it acknowledges the exceptional universal value of a heritage site, and on the other hand, it actively engages its current constituencies in building a collective vision for its future. This vision entails not only preserving and safeguarding the site but also leveraging its unique attributes to effectively address emerging and future challenges.
In terms of peculiarity that it brings, I would say that the most important one is at proprietary level: Ivrea’s living heritage comprises a large factory and buildings designed to serve the administration and social services, as well as residential units. Hence, there are numerous dimensions to its ownership, which include both movable assets/private interests and citizens/public interests. Therefore, the number and diversity of constituencies involved is peculiar and complex.
Due to this level of complexity, the process took 10 years, from 2008 until 2018 when Ivrea was recognised as UNESCO patrimony.
What were the different phases of the process and the key partners involved during these 10 years?
There were 2 main phases of the process: the preliminary phase to prepare for the eligibility of our nomination, and then, once we officially made it to the so-called “tentative list”, we entered a second phase which was the actual nomination process.
Different types of stakeholders were involved in these two steps: In the preliminary phase, we worked a lot on building a common vision for the city. The kind of consultations varied from a series of questionnaires to meetings dedicated to specific stakeholders, according to the necessities and specific steps of the process. We organised numerous topical events inviting experts from other European countries and from various disciplines. This first phase of the project was a sort of “approaching phase” where the foundation proposed a cultural programming to prepare the soil and build a consensus around an ideal future for the city. We reached a transversal and large audience including schools, citizens, enterprises, etc.
As mentioned, the peculiarity of acting with a living heritage, meant that this consensus had to be built with parties that had completely different interests and visions, from the private capital interests to common citizens. The foundation played a key role in bringing together these different parts of the city: We were seen as an external and more “neutral” actor. The organisational agility of the foundation was instrumental in this sense, especially in the preparatory phase.
And then from 2012 when we made it to the “tentative list”, making Ivrea an official candidate, we started the proper project of writing the dossier and designing the managing plan to apply for the nomination. The institutional partnership with the territory included: The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, in all its manifestations, including the UNESCO national office and the Piedmont Region’s cultural offices; the public administrations (City of Ivrea, City of Turin, Banchette’s Commune, and Regional Administration of Piedmont); and then Fondazione Guelpa Ivrea, which was involved at a later stage in the nomination process, committed to support its continuation.
Since the recognition in 2018, the process has also been followed by the UNESCO office in Paris, the World Heritage Centre.
What were the key challenges and success factors in this process?
A first difficulty was about being a first: Ivrea was the first Italian living contemporary heritage to apply for UNESCO nomination. This brought with it all the ups and downs of a “first time”.
Involving very diverse actors was certainly another challenge: For example, having a private citizen and a real estate institute at the same table is somewhat challenging, and it makes quite a difference, having two completely different interests and perspectives. What UNESCO expertise brings in this sense is very important: Through this process, it aims to guarantee, on one hand, the preservation of a physical space, but on the other hand it also wants to build from the infrastructure and ecosystem that made that preservation possible. So there is always a process of negotiation and exploration of what that space can become in the future, going beyond what it is in the present and what could be seen as an immediate opportunity (e.g. sometimes the idea of building a supermarket can be seen as responding to an immediate need expressed by a city, and therefore the best option from one perspective, but not necessarily the best option if you take a longer-term, human-centred perspective). This process helps going beyond this short-term perspective and expanding it to build a common vision for the future of the city.
Following on this perspective, I believe that one success factor was that this 10-year process served also as a re-education of people’s gaze, where citizens started to recognise heritage not only as historical sites, but also looking through a different eye and seeing heritage as contemporary heritage. And seeing that this was a recognition shared by all the countries and partners representing the UNESCO committee in 2018, as expressed in the nomination text by UNESCO.
Another positive aspect was the new perspective we brought in our own sector: The year of Ivrea’s nomination coincided with the year in which we joined the Funders Forum on Sustainable Cities of Philea (at the time the EFC). When we joined the group, the case studies presented were mostly about large cities, whereas Ivrea is a small city. This is quite common in Europe, where industrial cities tend to be of small-medium size. Generally speaking, we could say that in recent years the larger industrial cities had it easier in finding a new identity, whereas for the small-medium ones it was more difficult to re-invent themselves. It’s quite interesting to bring the conversation about a place to a more complex level: A city like Ivrea has its own charme, but also contains many challenges (one example being the fact that it not well connected to other cities and regions). This tension between its attractive and undesirable aspects is very contemporary, and it is shared by many other bigger cities, and in the end, it shapes their identities, in both their potential and in their limits. Hence, this was one of the new perspectives we brought in the FFSC group, particularly in 2019, when we hosted its annual meeting in Ivrea and Turin, in partnership with Fondazione CRT Sviluppo e Crescita.
What happened after the nomination and how does this work continue?
Although the foundation remains in the Steering Committee of the project, the project is now in the hands of Ivrea’s Commune which manages its more practical aspects. In terms of governance, we are always advocating for including different voices, so as to enlarge the vision of the city beyond the practical, material aspects.
But we are aware that this is an ongoing process, because indeed, UNESCO recognition goes beyond a nomination: It’s not just a short-term project but rather a long-term process and vision, and I believe that we need to wait longer than just five years to see its results. But it can be sometimes hard to stick to that longer horizon. The nominations are always linked to the public administration, and because officials are susceptible to election turnover, there can be some fractures in that long-term vision. We are now in a new political cycle, with a new mayor, a new site manager, etc. So we are in a new phase of getting to know each other and re-building that common vision.
Concretely, the vision for the coming years is currently in the making, and what remains for us, which is also at the heart of what we do, is continuing to see in Ivrea an ever-green best practice, which contains in itself a series of values – urban, programmatic, economic, interpersonal, territorial – and a much broader human vision, which is so relevant in our present history and what societies are facing.
The complexity of the legacy left by Adriano Olivetti remains unknown to most: Besides the creation of the typewriter that is now showcased at MoMa in New York, not much is known about what was behind that machine and the man who invented it, its vision and its urban context. Many questions around the city as a theme that were generated by Olivetti’s vision remain relevant today: around the functioning of a city, its surroundings, its link with citizens and the economy, how individuals need change, in a context of increased respect and sustainability. These are still very contemporary and relevant themes, and they remain the core of our work.
In our final question, we wanted to ask you, Matilde, what characteristics you think an ideal town should have?
I think a big investment in both large and small cities is transforming the concept of mobility, because at the end of the day our daily routines revolve around the necessity of efficient movement to accomplish our tasks. For me this is a central theme, maybe also because I live in Rome where mobility is extremely challenging. But I grew up in a small town of around 50,000 people, and despite being small, even there everyone choses to move around by car.
Another big topic is the need for more green spaces: This really hit home for me during the Covid-19 pandemic, when I felt the absolute need for an “outburst” space, which was lacking. All citizens need these spaces.
A third aspect I am interested in, which is linked to both, is the transformation of public spaces. Currently, most public spaces are privatised, and even in a country like Italy where the squares play and have played a fundamental role in the cultural, social and political life, it has recently become hard to find a spot which has not been privatised by businesses (except for restaurants and bars) simply to sit. A different vision of mobility, public and green spaces: All these aspects for me have to do with a deeper idea and concept of the city, one that brings together its entire ecosystem in all its different aspects and dimensions.
Philanthropy Curiosity Corner
Archives and digital collections
Fondazione Adriano Olivetti supports and coordinates activities for the study, valorisation, and dissemination of Adriano Olivetti’s cultural and historical legacy, making its archives and library available to researchers and the public, in order to be used as creative tools to interpret the challenges of contemporary societies.
Archivi Digitali Olivetti is the result of a project on the heritage of Olivetti started in 2013 by Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti and Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, with the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo. The digital platform hosts databases and interdisciplinary resources related to Olivetti’s history from 1908 to the present, including the company’s archives and historical documents related to its community and key personalities linked to its history. It also includes a digital museum.
In its office in Rome, the foundation gives public access to all its publications, an extensive library comprising the private collections of Adriano Olivetti and Camillo Olivetti, the main bibliography of studies and research in the Olivetti field, and the complete collection of publications of Edizioni di Comunità.
In the same spirit, the foundation has recently contributed to Google Arts & Culture with a collection of more than 200 digital objects that tell the story of Ivrea, UNESCO World Heritage Site.