Stores that make the Center unique starting with their storefronts, always updated by managers. An experiment on Genoa and Turin, accelerated by the pandemic, to bring in the ecommerce some of the magic of a walk under the arcades.

The “AtlasFor ‘Shops at Home: Genoa and Turin’ project took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the winter of 2020, near the holiday season. In the presentation of the initiative, it was written, “In this particular winter, we cannot help but think about the lack of carefree walking, especially now that the Christmas holidays are approaching. Let us think of Genoa: that secular ritual of strolling through the carruggi will, inevitably, be limited by concerns of assemblage. And as is so often the case, we realize the quality of our city life when we are about to lose it: buying a perfume or a dress choosing it from a catalog of photos of “little bottles” and dressed mannequins will be quite a different thing from wandering the streets, ogling shop windows, stopping for a coffee in historic establishments, talking to shopkeepers. There is a “demand for the city” that the web is unable to satisfy, and we find that we are used to walking around in the “best mall” there can be, and and and that space and behavior are missing. With AtlasFor, we decided to try an experiment: if for shopping you can’t go to the city, let’s bring the city indoors. Those who open “Shops at Home” on AtlasFor will be confronted with outstanding merchants, selected by the AtlasFor editorial staff located on a map of Genoa and Turin’s Historic Center along with cultural heritage and museums.

The graphic illustrates an example of “Shops at Home” for Turin: from the map, one approaches each store, can look at the window, go inside, and see the items offered by the store’s e-commerce. You actively visit the store; or you walk out and check out the neighboring store, as in a true pre-Christmas stroll. The map constantly updates, indicating with icons that shine, like real signs, the presence of the stores. This is something we want to reserve for those who really offer something special: the store space, the location, the products or services being sold must be “worth the trip.” And to these, who stand out because of their “story,” personal creativity, product selection or special layout, AtlasFor offers free of charge:

– a location on the map next to museums and cultural assets (with the same “dignity” as these)
– a presentation sheet, initially basic (with master data, hours, referral to e-commerce site etc.).
In addition, those interested can:
– complete or edit the tab as desired, with a few simple operations, either directly or by instructing the AtlasFor editorial staff, and by editing it with photos, interviews or other videos, a remotely activated chat, etc.
– select-from the images of the store windows and the interior of the premises-some products, equipping them with a link to their presentation in the store’s e-commerce site, and then to purchase (or possibly to a chat with the sales clerks).
In this way, we want to reproduce the experience of visiting the store: starting from the store windows and the counters inside, to the selection of products and the dialogue with the shopkeepers.”

The project was also presented with the help of two videos posted on the Foundation’s YouTube channel, which can currently be viewed by clicking here (Turin) and here (Genoa).