Ivrea

Ivrea is a town of 25,000 in the province of Turin in Piedmont, Italy. In the middle of the 20th century, many factories and residential buildings designed by leading Italian urban planners and architects were constructed in Ivrea. Particularly notable is the Olivetti plant, headquarters and surrounding buildings which are a world heritage site.

Get in
Nearest airport is Turin, approx 45 minutes by car. Trains and buses run regularly from Turin, and other surrounding towns.

By car

 * From Turin: A5 Turin-Aosta motorway, Ivrea exit
 * From Milan: A4 Milan-Turin motorway, A4-A5 Santhià-Ivrea junction, A5 towards Aosta, Ivrea exit
 * From Aosta: A5 Aosta-Turin motorway, Ivrea exit
 * From Genoa: A26 Genova-Gravellona motorway, A26 towards Alessandria-Santhià, A4-A5 Santhià-Ivrea junction, A5 towards Aosta, Ivrea exit

Get around
By foot

See
Ivrea is situated at the foot of the Alps, and this area is scattered with small lakes which are used for swimming in the summer. The main pedestrian centre contains some wonderful shops and bars for people-watching.

The medieval castle and the cathedral, both on top of the hill in the centre of the town, are very beautiful and worthwhile.

Do
Join in the Orange Festival at carnival time (February). An amazing experience where teams of locals compete over several days for possession of the various town squares by throwing oranges from horse-drawn carts. Spectators should wear something orange to show their solidarity with the festival or they risk coming under orange-attack!

Buy
Take a walk in Via Palestro and Via Arduino, the main shopping streets, linked together.

Eat
Torta 900 - a very sweet chocolate cake whose recipe has been a closely guarded secret for over a century. The authentic Torta 900 can only be bought from the Balla cake shop.

Go next
Aosta, Biella, Santhià, Chivasso, Montalto Dora