A canteen for workers, designed as early as 1936, located in the basement of the factory, with a self-service system and meal vouchers for payment. Adriano Olivetti’s innovative vision, as an enlightened entrepreneur, was already evident during the Fascist period.

But it was after the Liberation, when Olivetti founded the Movimento Comunità (Community Movement) in Ivrea in 1947 — a genuine project of social reform — that the factory culture became, for the first time in Italy, the blueprint for the design of an entire city. This was based on innovative urban planning techniques and a new vision of society.