Negozio Olivetti Museum

Negozio Olivetti, a modern masterpiece under the arcades of St Mark’s Square

Under the arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie, in the heart of St Mark’s Square, the Negozio Olivetti occupies a narrow space fitted out in 1957-1958 by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, at the request of Adriano Olivetti. It was not an ordinary shop, but a prestigious exhibition space intended for the company’s typewriters and calculating machines, a true showcase for Olivetti in one of the most visited places in Italy.

Scarpa transforms a dark and cramped space into a succession of luminous rooms, organised around a spectacular staircase in Aurisina stone whose staggered steps seem almost suspended. The floor combines stone and coloured glass mosaic, while wood, marble, glass and metal are worked with an almost artisanal precision. Near the entrance, a black marble basin fed with water serves as a setting for the bronze Nudo al Sole by the sculptor Alberto Viani.

After the closure of the showroom by Olivetti in 1997, the premises were used for several years as a souvenir shop, at the cost of significant modifications. Generali, owner of the premises, undertook a meticulous restoration in 2010 to restore the spaces, colours and furniture imagined by Scarpa. The Negozio reopened to the public in 2011 and was entrusted to the FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano), which has since managed it and its visits.

Scarpa’s choice illustrates the exceptional importance that Adriano Olivetti gave to architecture and design. For this industrialist, a modern company should not only manufacture functional objects: its machines, its graphics, its factories and its commercial spaces all participated in the same aesthetic culture. The St Mark’s showroom remains one of its most accomplished expressions.

Visiting tips

The visit is fairly quick due to the small size of the place, but it allows you to observe up close the materials, the staircase and the many details designed by Scarpa. A few historic Olivetti machines now complete the visit. Admission is charged; opening times and access conditions should be checked on the FAI website, especially during periods of acqua alta.

Sources and further information

FAI - Negozio Olivetti ; FAI International - Behind the scenes of a 20th-century icon ; Venezia Unica - Olivetti Showroom.