Adriano, the Church, and the City. Olivetti and the Religious Architectural Patronage between 1950s and 1960s in Ivrea

The study aims to investigate the relation between the Olivetti company and its patronage in religious architecture which con-stitutes a rarity that has still to be read within Olivetti’s social commitment. Described by Bruno Zevi as a “cocktail” of Judaism, Waldism, and Catholicism, the Olivetti represented the synthesis of these three spiritualities, with consequences in terms of archi-tectural project.Since its 1908 foundation in Ivrea (Turin), especially under the presidency of Adriano Olivetti (1938-1960), the company adopted a holistic approach regarding the themes of production and work. Starting from the ideal of Comunità theorized by Adriano, the com-pany committed itself with the synergic promotion of the factory’s growth, territory and society. In this framework, the planning of new settlements – whose realization is wanted by the company – becomes relevant.The study analyzes the changes of the role of religious architec-ture from a relative centrality in the 1930s to a progressive mar-ginalization in the first two decades after the World War II. This change is considered within the progressive loss of sense of com-munity in the 1960s, when the Olivetti company lost its main guide – Adriano suddenly died in 1960 – and the Church faced a crucial crisis after the Concilio Vaticano II (1962-1965).This critical moment is described through the analysis of the Canton Vesco district in Ivrea: here, between the 1950s and the 1960s, the Sacro Cuore (Nizzoli - Oliveri studio, Favini), and the San Francesco (Boschetti, De Carlo, Giovannini, Livadiotti) Catho-lic churches, and the Waldensian Evangelical Temple (Koenig - Messina) were designed and built.The essay aims at highlighting the relation between these archi-tectures and the urban context, also considering the influence they had – or did not have – on the contextual planning of the Canavese area, which was particularly subjected to religious reformism.