What is Ivrea known for?

Adriano Olivetti's industrial city rebuilt 1945-1955, UNESCO World Heritage since 2018, with glass factories, worker housing, and the Programma 101 from 1965. 300-700 tons of oranges thrown each February by costumed teams reenacting a 1200 revolt; nine teams on foot against shooters on wagons. Roman foundation in 100 BC as a military outpost on the Alpine route, later capital of the March of Ivrea and briefly of the Kingdom of Italy.

Ivrea is a comune in the province of Torino, Piedmont region of Italy, about 55 kilometers from Torino.

Piedmont · Torino

Ivrea

Roman Eporedia on the Dora Baltea, Olivetti's twentieth-century industrial city, UNESCO since 2018, where every February three hundred tons of oranges are thrown.

55 km / 34 mi

Nearest hub (Torino)

22,357

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Ivrea sitson the Dora Baltea, the river that drains the Aosta valley before it reaches the Po. The Romans founded it as Eporedia in 100 BC, a military outpost against the Salassi guarding the Alpine routes into Gaul. The medieval town was capital of the March of Ivrea and briefly of the Kingdom of Italy in the eleventh century. Then the modern story: Camillo Olivetti opened a typewriter factory in 1908. His son Adriano Olivetti rebuilt Ivrea between 1945 and 1955 as an industrial city designed around its workers, with glass-walled factories so workers could see the mountains, plus housing, schools, libraries, and cultural centers integrated into the surrounding landscape. The Programma 101, launched here in 1965, is considered the world's first commercial desktop computer. UNESCO inscribed Ivrea, Industrial City of the Twentieth Century, in 2018. Every February the Storico Carnevale stages the Battle of the Oranges, when three hundred to seven hundred tons of oranges are thrown by costumed teams reenacting a 1200 popular revolt.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello di Ivrea
Fourteenth-century red-brick castle of the Savoy on the hill above the centro storico, with four towers and views over the Dora Baltea.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Ninth-century cathedral on the site of a Roman temple, with Romanesque crypt and bell tower, the religious anchor of medieval Ivrea.
MAAM - Museo a Cielo Aperto dell'Architettura Moderna
Open-air museum of Olivetti-era architecture, the UNESCO site, including the ICO factories and the Talponia underground housing.
Storico Carnevale di Ivrea
Italy's oldest historical carnival, reenacting a 1200 revolt with the Battle of the Oranges, three to seven hundred tons of oranges thrown each February.
Cinque Laghi di Ivrea
Five small morainic lakes north of the town, formed by the Balteo glacier, with walking paths and swimming areas.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the open season. May and June green the morainic hills around the Cinque Laghi and the Olivetti factory tours run on full schedule. September and October are dry and quiet, the time to walk the UNESCO industrial route without summer heat. July and August touch the high twenties; the lakes fill on weekends and the Dora keeps the river park cool. November and December are quiet. January and early February build to Carnevale: nine teams of orange throwers, three days of street battles, a million tons of oranges by weight across the decades, ending Ash Wednesday with the funeral of the Carnevale.