Just a few windows, a tiny little place compared to the grandeur of the square where it is enclosed. It is the end of autumn and the afternoon light warms up the facades of the Procuratie Nuove and the Correr Museum. Opposite you can see Olivetti Shop, brilliant and poetic example of architecture of the 1900.
Designed by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa in 1958, it is a special place, much more than a store: a real showroom, an exhibition room, which embodies the quality and innovation, which Olivetti always pursued.
Scarpa’s work is based on the pre – existing space, apparently a sad, narrow and not well- lit room. He designs different chromatic areas, first the red area, then the white- grey one in the middle, the yellow one in the back. The wonderful staircase, which is in the middle of the room, is the cornerstone of the entire space. Not just a functional element, it represents the pivotal joint of the surrounding space.
A true soul masterpiece, with its visible mounting pins and offset steps as if they were hanging in the air.
In addition, the sculpture Nudo al sole (Nude in the sun) by Alberto Viani, on a black marble base, lightly touched by a thin veil of water in slight movement.
The space offers richness of details and decorative elements, frequent reminders of the Venetian tradition, the Japanese influence that characterizes Scarpa’s work and attention to transparencies.
Historic products by the brand Olivetti are displayed here, among others, the Divinasumma, the first company calculating machine and the famous 1950 Lettera 22 typewriter.
F.B.