MAAM - Museo a cielo aperto dell'architettura moderna di Ivrea

The MAAM interprets Ivrea's Olivetti-era architecture, including factories, research centres, housing and social structures that form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century".

Why it matters

In 2018 UNESCO inscribed "Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century" on the World Heritage List, citing a model of industrial development in which architecture served a social vision. Inaugurated in 2001 and certified by the Herity quality system, the MAAM treats the urban fabric as a collection. Its subjects include the Officine ICO, office palaces, nursery, canteen and housing blocks, interpreted by thematic stations. These buildings express how Adriano Olivetti's Comunità ideal translated into architecture and urban planning.

What to notice

Seven thematic stations address Olivetti's relationship with Ivrea, social policy, production, industrial projects, territorial planning, product design and housing in the Canavese landscape. Identification posts label individual buildings, whose architectural character reflects the work of Olivetti-era designers. The MAAM area also includes the fifteenth-century church of San Bernardino.

Context and history

The museum opened on 29 September 2001, the fruit of a municipal project to give public recognition to the architectural heritage of the Olivetti decades. Its founding idea was to treat the urban fabric itself as a collection of buildings, gardens and streets interpreted by thematic stations. The Ministry of Culture lists MAAM among Italy's museums, and it holds Herity certification for heritage management. When UNESCO inscribed the industrial city in 2018, many MAAM buildings formed part of the World Heritage Site. The open-air museum is associated with the Visitor Centre that opened in 2022.