The Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso (Workers’ Mutual Aid Society) was founded in 1861 and moved to its new headquarters at 136 Corso Roma, designed by engineer Marcello Zorzoli from Novara, in the early years of the last century.
The building was enlarged in 1922 and seven years later, the ballroom with wrought iron Art Nouveau decorations was built. The building currently houses the Fondazione Centro Studi per le Società Operaie di Mutuo Soccorso della Regione Piemonte (Study Centre for the Workers’ Mutual Aid Societies of the Piedmont Region), the Casa del Dialetto (House of Dialect) in memory of Giovanni Colombo, and the photography museum.
