A small, provincial town below the Piedmontese Alps of just 22,600 people, complete with a medieval orange festival, doesn’t really seem like it would be a beacon of tech innovation. But Ivrea, home of the famed Olivetti factory, is exactly that.

Beside the cute piazze and ancient bridge, the long via Jervis hosts a strange linear building made of glass, iron, and concrete, reminiscent of rationalism and austerity, and, for those who know, a glorious past. So, on a cool October day, I hopped in my trusted 90 Punto to check it out for myself.