I visited this WHS towards the end of June 2019. Even though I was expecting much from Ivrea, I really wasn't prepared for the appalling state of this newly inscribed WHS.

To me, the only positive aspects of this WHS were the nomination dossier and the informative website and map. However, that's it! What's left of Olivetti's legacy in Ivrea, perfectly illustrated on paper and electronically on the website, definitely doesn't match what I witnessed while visiting the 19 locations of this industrial WHS with 20th century architecture. Most of the locations are in a totally abandoned and neglected state.

The Former Sertec offices (main photo on our site) is now a condemned building with squatters and drug dealers/addicts occupying the building every now and then. Most window panes have been smashed, the interior partition walls have been dismantled, most of the exterior has been vandalised, small trees are growing into the roof and rainwater is slowly destroying the building which has almost no intact windows left. Unfortunately, the same applies to many of the other locations which are not as bad as the former Sertec offices but definitely not in any tip-top condition, let alone exuding any OUV whatsoever.

The only two buildings in Corso Jervis worth mentioning are the glass-paned ICO workshops which are very similar to the architectural style of the Fagus Factory WHS in Germany or the Van Nelle Fabriek in the Netherlands, as well as the Former Olivetti joinery building which is easily recognised by its coloured brise-soleil facade. This facade consists of a triple row of brise-soleil in fins of fibre cement supported by metal frames which depending on their inclination reflect the glazed surfaces of the ICO workshops supposedly adding movement to the facades and creating an original perception. This style is now very popular in 'modern' office buildings around the world.

Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing (although again nothing extraordinary) of all the inscribed Olivetti buildings is the Olivetti Study and Research Centre (Nan's photo) which to the untrained eye is what is closest to some of the inscribed buildings of the Le Corbusier WHS. The most iconic building of Ivrea has to be the Western Residential Unit, also known as Talponia (photo). It is mainly rented out to university students and as such suits it's purpose very well, providing small living spaces at affordable prices and giving an illusion of nature and green spaces in an otherwise industrial city. Due to its peculiar construction method, I failed to spot it immediately and drove past the building a couple of times before noticing the bubble-shaped skylights from street level. Once again, the walking path leading to the building is not looked after and overgrowth took over most benches, dustbins or lighting. The concrete-tiles of the Talponia roof seem to be collapsing one after the other and many were either broken or desperately in need of some form of repair or replacement. It's shape somewhat reminded me of the Horseshoe estate in Berlin's WHS.

All in all, for me Ivrea is Italy's worst WHS and one of the worst WHS on the list. It's a negative example of how some of the latest nominations of industrial WHS attempting to save such ghost structures of the past can fail miserably. It shows that by simply inscribing a site as a WHS as if it were a brand, without any medium or long term planning for its upkeep, conservation and divulgation, is a farse and is doomed to be a failure in the long run. The only apparent efforts at least were to place (very ugly) metallic structures with some information boards next to some of the inscribed buildings. There are two UNESCO inscription boards, one in front of the ICO workshops and another next to the bus stop close the 'new' Olivetti office building (which from the outside looks like an old hospital or a home for the elderly!).