A cycle of documentary films dedicated to the history of living and dwelling in Italy. Four events exploring how homes, cities, and objects have accompanied the country’s social and cultural transformations.

Curated by Alberica Archinto, Alberto Saibene and Ranuccio Sodi
In collaboration with CSC / National Archive of Industrial Cinema

PROGRAM OF EVENTS
Free admission

• Massimo Magrì, a filmmaker at Olivetti

Sunday, February 15 – 11:30 am

A tribute to filmmaker Massimo Magrì, author of innovative industrial films made for Olivetti, a company that symbolized Italy’s design culture. The documentaries highlight the meeting of cinema, design, and industrial vision, including collaborations with Ettore Sottsass.
Introduction by Enrico Morteo.

Films (short films):
Le regole del gioco (1968)
Macchina cerca forma (1970)
Software Olivetti (1969)
Per gioco. Macchine tradizionali (1970)

• The Seventies and the Housing Struggles

Sunday, February 22 – 11:30 am

A focus on the decade of social mobilization and the right to housing, in an Italy marked by internal migration and underserved peripheral areas. Militant cinema documents urban struggles and social tensions.
Introduction by Fabrizio Ravelli.

Film:
Lotte per la casa a Milano (1972), by the Milanese Collettivo Cinema Militante.

• Visible Cities

Sunday, March 1 – 11:30 am

A look at the neighborhoods built in the postwar years under the INA-Casa plan, which transformed the Italian urban landscape. These documentaries recount the growth of suburbs and new forms of living through the lens of social inquiry.
Introduction by Giovanni La Varra.

Films:
Uomini e case (1955)
La città verticale (1957)
La città oppressa (1964)
Inchiesta alla periferia (1960)
Posizione dell’architettura (1953)

• The House of Cini Boeri

Sunday, March 8 – 11:30 am

A portrait of architect and designer Cini Boeri, a central figure in Italian design. The film retraces her work on living spaces, from domestic interiors to everyday objects, with particular attention to the iconic Casa Bunker. Directed by Maddalena Bregani, who will be present.

Film:
La casa di Cini Boeri (2024, 60’)

The volume OLIVETTI E I FOTOGRAFI DELLA MAGNUM (Moebius Edizioni), the catalog of the eponymous exhibition currently on view at the Museo Civico Pier Alessandro Garda, tells the extraordinary story of the collaboration between the Olivetti company and the Magnum photographers Wayne Miller, Erich Hartmann, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Sergio Larrain. Both the exhibition and the volume are based on original prints, contact sheets, and correspondence with Magnum and its photographers—all documents from the Olivetti Historical Archives, most of them previously unpublished. The collaboration with Olivetti, begun in 1958 for the publication Olivetti 1908-1958 and continuing until 1970, presents an innovative model of visual storytelling that integrates technological, artistic, design, and social research.

Curated by Paolo Barbaro, Claudia Cavatorta, Paola Mantovani, and Marcella Turchetti

Monday, January 19, 6:00 PM
Speakers:

• Giuseppe Lupo, writer and essayist, Professor of Contemporary Italian Literature at the Università Cattolica di Milano

• Paolo Barbaro (University of Parma) and Marcella Turchetti (Olivetti Historical Archives Association), co-curators of the volume and exhibition

On the occasion of the final weeks of the exhibition Alchemy. The Revolution of Italian Design, a series of public events translates the original spirit of the collective into shared experiences, transforming the museum into a living laboratory of relationships. Design, fragrance, cinema, performance, play, and psychoanalysis become tools for encounter, reflection, and experimentation.

Curated by Alessandro Guerriero and Stefano Mirti
Sponsored by C-Zone

Free admission while seats last

 

EVENTS

• SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 3:00 PM
Olfactory Alchemies
Workshop curated by Schola Academy
A sensory laboratory dedicated to the universe of Alchimia. Through a synesthetic approach, words, images, and suggestions from the exhibition are translated into a shared aromatic direction, conceived as a possible olfactory signature of the collective.
With the participation of Alessandro Guerriero, who presents the concept of the Compasso d’Oro Award.

• THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 6:00 PM
The Infinite Piece of Furniture and Alchimia
Film screening by Emilio Neri Tremolada and Caterina Paino
The screening is followed by a discussion. The narrative moves through objects, ideas, and visions of the Alchimia movement, opening a reflection on the collective’s cultural and design legacy.
With Emilio Neri Tremolada, Alessandro Guerriero, Giacomo Ghidelli, and Caterina Paino in attendance.

• SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 6:00 PM
Stultifera Navis – Guide to Meta-Sense
Performance curated by Sara Ricciardi, included in the ticket price.
A performative and symbolic experience that guides the audience on a voyage into the absurd. Voice, sound, and ritual action construct a journey through non-sense as a critical and imaginative space.

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 6:00 PM
The Alchemical Postcard
In collaboration with Spazio Filateia, Milan – Poste Italiane
A collective ritual dedicated to the material memory of the exhibition. Special postcards, stamps, and an official postmark activate a public and repeated gesture, transforming each object into a unique trace destined to continue its journey.
Introductory remarks by Alessandro Guerriero, followed by greetings from the head of Spazio Filateia in Milan.

• WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 6:00 PM
Alchemy of Forms
Card game by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
Illustrated by Chiara Zhu
A moment of collective play that activates the project through the language of games. Tables, cards, and essential rules create an informal space for interaction, experimentation, and sharing.

• THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 6:00 PM
NonSoCosaSono (The Visual Imaginary)
Session-performance with Mariapia Bobbioni and Alessandro Guerriero
A public encounter between psychoanalysis and design, in the form of an open session and collective exercise. Body, object, and imagination become tools to investigate the creative unconscious and the design process as an experience of knowledge.