On 29th September 1957, in the presence of religious, cultural and political authorities from across the country – including Eugenio Montale – the Mayor of Ivrea, Adriano Olivetti, unveiled one of the city’s most iconic landmarks: the monumental fountain dedicated to his father Camillo, founder of the factory that had by then grown to international stature.
The fountain is a work of great visual impact, overlooking the Dora Baltea river. It stands at the foot of the rock and the wall that encloses the upper, historic part of the city. It consists of three elements: a 3-metre-high bronze stele with intertwined elements inspired by the keys and levers of typewriters, a medallion bearing the profile of Camillo Olivetti, and a jet of water cascading down from the stone.
The monument was built with contributions from the citizens of Ivrea, local industries and organisations, and Olivetti employees in Italy and abroad. It was created by the Sicilian sculptor Emilio Greco, from Catania, one of Italy’s most important artists. In 1961, Pablo Picasso said of him: “Greco is the greatest designer we have in Europe”.
Worth mentioning is the speech by Salvator Gotta:
“Had I not been invited to address this great commemoration, I would have requested to do so. For I believe that few of his fellow citizens have had, as I have, the good fortune to follow closely Olivetti’s magnificent work, as a man, a worker, a thinker, an industrialist, a benefactor and a brother to all.”
Gotta places Camillo Olivetti among the great men of Canavese history, alongside King Arduin, Massimo D’Azeglio, Costantino Nigra, Giuseppe Giacosa, Guido Gozzano and Giovanni Cena.
Beyond its undoubted artistic merit, the fountain also holds great symbolic significance. The figure of Camillo Olivetti emerges from the rock and stretches beyond the waterfall, towards the industrial complex that grew out of the red-brick factory he built in the late 19th century. The artwork expresses the constructive energy that emanates from the past to reach out towards the future. Two time dimensions, almost like two cities that meet here.
To further emphasise this connection, since 2010 the Ponte Nuovo bridge opposite has been named Ponte Adriano Olivetti. It was inaugurated in 1860 and was initially named after Isabella of Bavaria, Queen Margherita’s sister-in-law, and later after Caesar Augustus.
One final point of interest: beside the fountain, a small iron door leads to one of the city’s most evocative sites of collective memory, the air-raid shelter used by local residents during the Second World War to protect themselves from bombing. Even today, it retains the confined, suspended atmosphere of wartime emergency, turning access to its chambers, carved into the rock, into an experience of profound historical and civic significance. Also worth noting, between the fountain and the shelter, is a small commemorative plaque marking the celebrations held in 1900 for the city’s bimillennium.
