Association for → Publications, research and projects → Studies and research

Studies & Research

The Olivetti Historical Archive Association conducts
research activities at a variety of levels:

  • Promotes in-depth research on specific aspects of Olivetti history. Appoints acclaimed expert scholars who make use of the documentation and skills of the Olivetti Historical Archive Association.

Between 2008 and 2018, six research projects were completed on the following themes:

— the history of the Olivetti Management Board.

— the economic planning of the Company compared to the planning of other large companies and the national planning – reorganisation of work in Olivetti in the face of the great social and technological changes of the 1970s.

— Olivetti’s process of internationalisation between the 1920s and the late 1950s (Adriano period).

— Olivetti graphical drawings as episodes of a single narrative in which factory life is the protagonist.

— the Olivetti employee housing programmes in Ivrea, the role assigned to the Olivetti Employee Housing Advisory Office and the design and policy dynamics that contributed to shaping Ivrea’s residential landscape.

  • Research on a smaller scale, but of equal interest, is conducted both by collecting written and oral testimonies of individuals connected to the Olivetti company and by preparing documented catalogues accompanying the exhibitions on specific aspects of Olivetti’s history.
  • Consultancy and documentary support for studies conducted by various individuals (academics, journalists, researchers or students) or by private and public bodies for cultural initiatives, means the Association is committed to continuous, albeit behind-the-scenes, research work.
  • Research activities are also conducted in
    support of presentations by the Olivetti Historical Archive Association at conferences and debates

List of publications

Stefano Musso, La partecipazione nell’impresa responsabile. Storia del Consiglio di gestione Olivetti, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series, il Mulino, May 2009

Fabio Lavista, La stagione della programmazione. Grandi imprese e Stato dal dopoguerra agli anni Settanta, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series, il Mulino, February 2010

Federico Butera, Giovanni de Witt, Valorizzare il lavoro per rilanciare l’impresa. La storia delle isole di produzione alla Olivetti negli anni ’70, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series

Adriana Castagnoli, Essere impresa nel mondo. L’espansione internazionale dell’Olivetti dalle origini agli anni sessanta, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series, il Mulino, September 2012

Caterina Cristina Fiorentino, Millesimo di millimetro. I segni del codice visivo Olivetti 1908-1978, preface by Giuseppe Lupo, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series, il Mulino, Bologna, April 2014

Carlo Olmo, Patrizia Bonifazio and Luca Lazzarini, Le case Olivetti a Ivrea. L’Ufficio Consulenza Case Dipendenti ed Emilio A. Tarpino with photographs by Paolo Mazzo, Olivetti Historical Archive Association Studies and Research Series, il Mulino, Bologna, December 2018

Stay up to date on the Olivetti world, subscribe to ours Newsletters!

Ricevi OT L22 Bold gratis

Iscriviti subito e ricevi gratuitamente la prima font ispirata alla macchina per scrivere Olivetti Lettera 22.

Una font unica al mondo. Stile, personalità, design.
Tutto questo è OT L22 Bold.