Back to origins of Fiat design with Dante Giacosa

An exhibition about the father of legendary Italian automobile icons like Fiat 500 celebrates the works of the engineer together with the 6th Memorial dedicated to him in his home town

The automotive world did not fail to pay homage to the memory of Dante Giacosa, the great Fiat designer who created the famous Topolino, the 600 and the 500, one of the most beloved icons of Made in Italy. At the end of June, a parade of Nuova Cinquecento invaded the streets of Neive (Cuneo), where the engineer was born and now rests (3 January 1905 – 31 March 1996), also getting along the beautiful Piedmont hills at the sixth edition of the Dante Giacosa Memorial.

The car for everyone. Fully entered into the collective imagination, the legendary “Cinquino” was a revolutionary project by Dante Giacosa that still appears modern and innovative. It was July 4, 1957 when the Nuova Cinquecento, the “little big car” that soon became a symbol of mass motorization, was presented in Turin. Despite its small size, Dante Giacosa’s design maximized the internal volume, managing to create a surprisingly large space for four passengers. The standard folding fabric roof gave this economy car a touch of luxury and cleverly reduced at the same time the use of steel, a very precious material for the time and necessary for its production.

Timeless and super awarded. From 1957 to 1975, the Cinquecento was built continuously, in five different series, reaching a record share of over 4 million units which made it one of the best-selling Fiat models of all times. Then, on 4 July 2007, again in Turin, the new generation of the Fiat 500 was presented, destined to become a global success marketed in 100 countries around the world. It earned numerous awards, including the “Car of the Year” and the “Compasso d’oro”, the latter trophy won by both generations in 1959 and 2011. Last year also the third generation was launched, the Nuova 500, the first full electric from Fiat.

An exhibition not to be missed. The photographic and documentary exhibition dedicated to the figure of Dante Giacosa, set up at the ancient Clock Tower in Neive, was inaugurated on the occasion of the Memorial and will remain open to the public until August 29 (booking: Neive Tourist Office, neive@tourbante.com). It is an evocative collection of shots, drawings and posters found through the contribution of the Fiat Historic Center in Turin. Among the Memorial activities that aroused greater interest at the Momorial there was also the conference at the Castle in the medieval village of Neive, which was attended by world-renowned designers such as Giorgietto Giugiaro, Enrico Fumia and Roberto Giolito. For the latter, who penned the 2007 500, the creative force of Giacosa “still represents the essential compendium for anyone who is preparing to think about the new forms of transport, for vision, creativity and solidity of the concepts”.