The Iso Rivolta Chronicles

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An Italian Garage is a Web-Series of short documentaries on Italian Classic Car brands. The Iso Rivolta Chronicles will be the first of a series of single-topic seasons that will be published on an yearly basis.

The Iso Rivolta Chronicles: The poster

Illustration Elisa Vendramin

Typography Christian Babuin

Iso Rivolta is an Italian pioneering automotive brand of the 50s and 60s. It was a family business led by Renzo Rivolta, who, in the late 40s, decided to transform his firm from producing fridges to motorcycles.

He then changed his business to automobiles. From city cars, like the Bubble Car Isetta, to luxury sport cars with American V8 engines. The most famous model is the Iso Grifo, a gorgeous turing car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Giotto Bizzarrini at Bertone. When Renzo died, the company went to his son, Piero Rivolta.

The Iso Rivolta Chronicles, photography by Alessandro Venier, 2016.

Iso Rivolta closed in 1974, due to the oil crisis, on one side, and its artisanal approach to production, on the other; the cars were too expensive and the production model was not sustainable anymore against the streamlined productions.In 8-episode story, The Iso Rivolta Chronicles will revive this pioneering and unfortunate brand through the testimonies of its tenacious collectors and restorers.