Access the Online Archive
Search the Historical Archive of the Pirelli Foundation for sources and materials. Select the type of support you are interested in and write the keywords of your research.
    Select one of the following categories
  • Documents
  • Photographs
  • Drawings and posters
  • Audio-visuals
  • Publications and magazines
  • All
Help with your research
To request to view the materials in the Historical Archive and in the libraries of the Pirelli Foundation for study and research purposes and/or to find out how to request the use of materials for loans and exhibitions, please fill in the form below. You will receive an email confirming receipt of the request and you will be contacted.
Pirelli Foundation Educational Courses

Select the education level of the school
Back
Primary schools
Pirelli Foundation Educational Courses
Please fill in your details and the staff of Pirelli Foundation Educational will contact you to arrange the dates of the course.

I declare I have read  the privacy policy, and authorise the Pirelli Foundation to process my personal data in order to send communications, also by email, about initiatives/conferences organised by the Pirelli Foundation.

Back
Lower secondary school
Pirelli Foundation Educational Courses
Please fill in your details and the staff of Pirelli Foundation Educational will contact you to arrange the dates of the course.
Back
Upper secondary school
Pirelli Foundation Educational Courses
Please fill in your details and the staff of Pirelli Foundation Educational will contact you to arrange the dates of the course.
Back
University
Pirelli Foundation Educational Courses

Do you want to organize a training programme with your students? For information and reservations, write to universita@fondazionepirelli.org

Visit the Foundation
For information on the Foundation's activities and admission to the spaces,
please call +39 0264423971 or write to visite@fondazionepirelli.org

A “gentle capitalism” for the growth of enterprises and the building of a sustainable economy “on a human scale”

Katia Da Ros, Venetian entrepreneur (her company, Irinox, manufactures high-tech cold-storage appliances for the food industry) and Vice President for Sustainability and Culture at territorial entrepreneurial institution Confindustria, believes that we should work towards “a gentler capitalism”. In other words, towards an economic system based on a set of values (environmental and social sustainability, caring for people, quality of life, occupational safety) that should inform products, services, markets, consumption. A system that, if respected, would allow us to build the kind of long-term economic values (profits, stock market returns, etc.) that drive companies to grow, invest, create employment and widespread prosperity.

Using the term “gentleness” within an economic and corporate context is really not that unusual today (though inconceivable ten years ago) and it reveals an underlying trend that’s increasingly spreading in innovative businesses mindful of sustainability issues as well as in trade associations and social and cultural environments busy working on the values and content of good corporate culture.

On Monday morning, at LUISS University, Symbola and the Franciscan community of Assisi held an event to rediscuss and relaunch the “Manifesto of Assisi”, the manifesto they drafted to advocate “an economy on a human scale”, too – a document that in January 2020 was promptly countersigned by major associations (Unioncamere, Confindustria, Coldiretti) and, over time, several large companies (Enel, Novamont, Arvedi, Illy, etc.) alike.

The underlying message is clear: sustainability, culture and a “gentler capitalism” are the choices that allow enterprises – Italian ones in particular – to take on the current crisis, to deal with emergencies but also, and above all, to look to the future and as such turn these choices into drives for competitiveness and success on markets that have become increasingly difficult, aggressive and demanding.

We are indeed experiencing a dramatic period, one of crisis and uncertainties, amidst war, energy shocks, inflation and recession and the heavy impact they have on certainties, employment, income and development opportunities. Enterprises are under pressure and thus are rediscussing investment projects and trade relationships, as it’s precisely in this difficult context that we must be able to establish ourselves, firmly and unequivocally, in those global niches that feature greater added value.

The original “polytechnic culture” is in fact constituted by our distinctive values, a blend of arts and humanities, science and technology – a story that looks to the future and a solid propensity for quality. Sustainable choices are of the essence, just like a good corporate culture, conveyed through historical museums and archives that can be used as strategic tools to guide us through this crisis and devise plans for growth – in fact, their promotion and appreciation positively affect the brand, reinforces a sense of loyalty and pride in employees, strengthens marketing and communication activities as well as market relations, and, more in general, consolidates the prestigious allure of goods “made in Italy” worldwide.

This is why investing in beauty and quality is important. In the widest and most complex sense of the concept, the best designs are linked to technological innovation, and as such enhance the mechatronics, robotics, automotive, chemical, aerospace and shipbuilding industries, as well as, of course, more traditional “made in Italy” sectors such as furnishings, fashion and the agro-industry.

This is know-how, the notion of “knowing how to do” but also of “doing it well, and doing good” – an attitude that’s deeply rooted in the expertise of the most productive regions and that is reflected in the scientific research carried out by polytechnic institutes and the best Italian universities. It’s also an approach that has recently demonstrated great resourcefulness in taking on the twin green and digital transition, as well as economic and social shifts, and stimulated the competitive skills of businesses.

This is where the thoughts that animate public debate in the corporate world and cultural, education and research hubs, precisely in these uncertain times of crisis, are leading us: to a “gentle capitalism”, indeed. “Reformist enterprises” driving the critical rewriting of production and services maps in smart cities, which then turn into smart lands, or, productive territories where innovation and positive social capital predominate, as well as a proper economy, “on a human scale” or – even better – “on an individual and communal scale”, referring to the contemporariness of Adriano Olivetti’s ideas (as also suggested by Paolo Bricco’s inspiring book about “a 20th-century Italian man”, published by Rizzoli).

It’s mostly the new generations that are leading us in this direction – not just as consumers but also as entrepreneurs, producers, informed individuals who make responsible financial decisions through their choice of products and services, and who prefer to work in companies that tangibly share their sustainable value system (while punishing, with critical intelligence, companies called out for greenwashing).

In this way, we’re also recovering our ancient knowledge, rooted in the medieval culture of Benedictine abbeys (the teachings of ora et labora, pray and labour), a taste for beauty in cities populated by merchants, bankers and manufacturers such as Siena and Florence, the relationship between Franciscan friars and bankers, brought together by their regard for both goods and “common goods”, as great Catholic economics such as Stefano Zamagni and Luigino Bruni have shown (Bruni’s latest book Capitalismo meridiano – Alle radici dello spirito mercantile tra religione e profitto (Meridian capitalism – Getting to the roots of the trading spirit amidst religion and profit), published by Il Mulino, provides some really good evidence of this). Adding one essential remark: “The European economy was conceived by a spirit larger than the trading spirit. And if it were to lose this larger spirit, it’d be in serious danger of extinguishing itself.”  Here it is then, a new possible dimension, which we can keep on “gently” discussing.

Katia Da Ros, Venetian entrepreneur (her company, Irinox, manufactures high-tech cold-storage appliances for the food industry) and Vice President for Sustainability and Culture at territorial entrepreneurial institution Confindustria, believes that we should work towards “a gentler capitalism”. In other words, towards an economic system based on a set of values (environmental and social sustainability, caring for people, quality of life, occupational safety) that should inform products, services, markets, consumption. A system that, if respected, would allow us to build the kind of long-term economic values (profits, stock market returns, etc.) that drive companies to grow, invest, create employment and widespread prosperity.

Using the term “gentleness” within an economic and corporate context is really not that unusual today (though inconceivable ten years ago) and it reveals an underlying trend that’s increasingly spreading in innovative businesses mindful of sustainability issues as well as in trade associations and social and cultural environments busy working on the values and content of good corporate culture.

On Monday morning, at LUISS University, Symbola and the Franciscan community of Assisi held an event to rediscuss and relaunch the “Manifesto of Assisi”, the manifesto they drafted to advocate “an economy on a human scale”, too – a document that in January 2020 was promptly countersigned by major associations (Unioncamere, Confindustria, Coldiretti) and, over time, several large companies (Enel, Novamont, Arvedi, Illy, etc.) alike.

The underlying message is clear: sustainability, culture and a “gentler capitalism” are the choices that allow enterprises – Italian ones in particular – to take on the current crisis, to deal with emergencies but also, and above all, to look to the future and as such turn these choices into drives for competitiveness and success on markets that have become increasingly difficult, aggressive and demanding.

We are indeed experiencing a dramatic period, one of crisis and uncertainties, amidst war, energy shocks, inflation and recession and the heavy impact they have on certainties, employment, income and development opportunities. Enterprises are under pressure and thus are rediscussing investment projects and trade relationships, as it’s precisely in this difficult context that we must be able to establish ourselves, firmly and unequivocally, in those global niches that feature greater added value.

The original “polytechnic culture” is in fact constituted by our distinctive values, a blend of arts and humanities, science and technology – a story that looks to the future and a solid propensity for quality. Sustainable choices are of the essence, just like a good corporate culture, conveyed through historical museums and archives that can be used as strategic tools to guide us through this crisis and devise plans for growth – in fact, their promotion and appreciation positively affect the brand, reinforces a sense of loyalty and pride in employees, strengthens marketing and communication activities as well as market relations, and, more in general, consolidates the prestigious allure of goods “made in Italy” worldwide.

This is why investing in beauty and quality is important. In the widest and most complex sense of the concept, the best designs are linked to technological innovation, and as such enhance the mechatronics, robotics, automotive, chemical, aerospace and shipbuilding industries, as well as, of course, more traditional “made in Italy” sectors such as furnishings, fashion and the agro-industry.

This is know-how, the notion of “knowing how to do” but also of “doing it well, and doing good” – an attitude that’s deeply rooted in the expertise of the most productive regions and that is reflected in the scientific research carried out by polytechnic institutes and the best Italian universities. It’s also an approach that has recently demonstrated great resourcefulness in taking on the twin green and digital transition, as well as economic and social shifts, and stimulated the competitive skills of businesses.

This is where the thoughts that animate public debate in the corporate world and cultural, education and research hubs, precisely in these uncertain times of crisis, are leading us: to a “gentle capitalism”, indeed. “Reformist enterprises” driving the critical rewriting of production and services maps in smart cities, which then turn into smart lands, or, productive territories where innovation and positive social capital predominate, as well as a proper economy, “on a human scale” or – even better – “on an individual and communal scale”, referring to the contemporariness of Adriano Olivetti’s ideas (as also suggested by Paolo Bricco’s inspiring book about “a 20th-century Italian man”, published by Rizzoli).

It’s mostly the new generations that are leading us in this direction – not just as consumers but also as entrepreneurs, producers, informed individuals who make responsible financial decisions through their choice of products and services, and who prefer to work in companies that tangibly share their sustainable value system (while punishing, with critical intelligence, companies called out for greenwashing).

In this way, we’re also recovering our ancient knowledge, rooted in the medieval culture of Benedictine abbeys (the teachings of ora et labora, pray and labour), a taste for beauty in cities populated by merchants, bankers and manufacturers such as Siena and Florence, the relationship between Franciscan friars and bankers, brought together by their regard for both goods and “common goods”, as great Catholic economics such as Stefano Zamagni and Luigino Bruni have shown (Bruni’s latest book Capitalismo meridiano – Alle radici dello spirito mercantile tra religione e profitto (Meridian capitalism – Getting to the roots of the trading spirit amidst religion and profit), published by Il Mulino, provides some really good evidence of this). Adding one essential remark: “The European economy was conceived by a spirit larger than the trading spirit. And if it were to lose this larger spirit, it’d be in serious danger of extinguishing itself.”  Here it is then, a new possible dimension, which we can keep on “gently” discussing.