Guiding Architects Turin

ATT/8: Alessandria, Borsalino and Gardella 

During the XXth century the history of Alessandria, lying in the extreme southeast of Piedmont, is strictly related to the world renowned manufacturer of hats, Borsalino, which commissioned to Ignazio Gardella, one of the major figures of Italian rationalism, and before to his father Arnaldo, a vast complex of civil infrastructures and social welfare institutions which became typical components of the city’s urban fabric. This strict relationship between industry and city’s construction can be compared just with the Ivrea of Olivetti. The tour starts at Museo del Cappello Borsalino and then guides through the different buildings conceived by the two Gardella together with the Borsalino family from the thirties to the fifties: Sanatorio “Vittorio Emanuele III” (Ignazio Gardella, 1931-35), Ospedale infantile Cesare Arrigo (Ignazio Gardella, 1956-57), Dispensario Antitubercolare (Ignazio Gardella, 1933-37) ad oggi Poliambulatorio Gardella, Casa di abitazione (Ignazio Gardella, 1953), Casa impiegati Borsalino (Ignazio Gardella, 1952), Taglieria del Pelo Borsalino (Ignazio Gardella, 1949-56)

Duration: 1 day

Displacement: Private bus or train from Turin

Reservation: at least 1 week before