Ricerc@Sapienza

When you think of the Italian “economic miracle”, i.e., the intense development that Italy has experienced since the end of the war until roughly the mid-sixties, hardly the thoughts turn to the cultural industry. Still, if you think of the cultural industry properly, including in it, besides publishing, the production and consumption of radio programs and television, as well as the music industry, there is no doubt that it has known a growth level comparable to that of other industrial fields. In the Twenties, the idea is developed of broadcasting, i.e. the transmission of a message not to an individual recipient, but to a plurality of recipients provided with equipment capable of receiving it. This system – which is immediately used for its political propaganda potential – mainly has in its inception an entertainment purpose. In addition, the convergences made possible by technological developments in the second half of the Twenties, and the integration between the technologies of cable and wireless transmissions, quickly extends from the written word to the voice and to the fixed and moving images. This favors the shift of attention from the method of transmission to the content of the message, giving rise to a new concept
of telecommunications, which will become the post-war standard. In this field, an important role is held in Italy by the State-owned industrial holding IRI. After the War, there is a widespread doubt that Italy, in the difficult economic post-war situation, may afford the resources to rebuild and modernize its telecommunication system, in order to catch up with other countries. This perspective is opposed by the managers of the Stet (IRI’s financial holding in the field). They gain the support of Luigi Einaudi, minister of the Treasury, who generally dislikes the economic intervention of the State, but gives credit to Stet. Already in 1947, in fact, the urban telephone service covers a wider number of clients than in the period before the war, while the long-distance network is spreading to all municipalities. Stet is based in Turin, which in the years between the two World Wars had become the capital of Italian telecommunications: Eiar, the old Fascist radio institution, is also based there, and is controlled by IRI as well. After the war, Eiar is transformed into a new concessionaire: RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane. It plays a significant driving function for the technological modernization of the whole Italian system of telecommunications, with the renovation and development of broadcasting infrastructure, and with important consequences in related industries. In addition, between 1948 and 1952 RAI turns into a large cultural company, based on production standards of high qualification, with technical services considered at that time among the best in Europe. The radio audience will rise by 243 %, to just under 5 million, in 1953. Italy thus achieves a radio density comparable to that of other European countries, although still at some distance from the most developed markets. In 1954, television is started, and RAI, while keeping unchanged the acronym, changes its name to Rai – Radiotelevisione Italiana. In the same years, furthermore, the Italian recording industry, until then controlled by British, American and French companies, sees the birth and the strong development of new initiatives by Italian entrepreneurs. While in other European countries, the State controlled broadcasting companies proceed gradually and with caution in spreading the television network, in Italy the strategy adopted by Rai is to extend the service as quickly as possible. Within a few years, the television reaches a number of subscribers equal to that of radio. Imported television sets have high prices, and Italian companies bet on the production of good quality equipment of original design and affordable price. Before the end of the Fifties, the Italian market will absorb,