Centro Storico Fiat
Inaugurated in 1963, Centro Storico Fiat
is hosted by an Art Nouveau building
that was built as the first expansion
(1907) of the workshops located on Corso
Dante, the company's first home.
The facility began to witness important
moments in Fiat's history straight away:
the first of these dates back to 4 May
1966, when in the building's central
hall Vittorio Valletta, a key figure in
the more than a century of history of
the company founded by Senator Giovanni
Agnelli, signed the agreement with the
USSR that led to the construction of the
Togliatti plant.
Centro Storico Fiat now hosts a
collection of automobiles, mementos,
models and advertising manifestos
spanning the company's entire history:
from its first vehicle, the 3½ Hp, to
the impressive Mefistofele, which in
1924 beat the all-time world speed
record. Then there are the first
tractor, the Fiat 702 of 1919, the 18BL
truck, which transported Italian troops
in the First World War, the Littorina, a
rail transportation leader beginning in
the Thirties, and the G91 fighter, an
aircraft designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli
and later adopted by NATO.
The exhibit itinerary, which will
surprise visitors with Fiat ship
engines, bicycles, refrigerators and
washing machines, includes a
reconstruction of several facilities
symbolic of the company's history and
changes in its working methods.
In the same building are located the
corporate archives, available by
appointment: more than 7,000 linear
meters of print documents, 400,000
technical designs, 5,000 automotive and
industrial history volumes and
magazines, more than six million images
(prints, slides, plates and negatives)
and over 200 hours of historical
films.Of particular interest is the
archive of designer Dante Giacosa, the
“father” of the mini cars: the Fiat
Topolino (“little mouse” in Italian),
the Fiat 600 and the Fiat 500, which
motorized the Italian population.
Media of the day
Books


Lancia: a history of technological innovation
Centro Storico Fiat is publishing a book by Lorenzo Morello, former Fiat Auto Motor Engineering Director. The book examines the mechanical design evolution of 35 models in detail, from the 1907 12 HP (Alfa) to the new 1976 Gamma (γ).


Centro Storico Fiat republishes "I miei 40 anni di progettazione alla Fiat" ("Forty Years of Design with Fiat") by Dante Giacosa
Dante Giacosa (1905-1996) provides an inside view of the creation of some of the most important models in company history. His memories are available online for free, also in e-book format.


Fiat in Poland, Yugoslavia and Russia in the memoirs of Riccardo Chivino
The Centro Storico Fiat is publishing and providing the on-line memoirs free of charge of one of the protagonists of the Fiat presence in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.