Industrial tourism in Italy –
Art, science and industry: the first guide to corporate museums and business archives

“Every object has a story. It is the result of a system of relationships – for example, between those who design, produce, market and use it. It has its own built-in knowledge (resulting from the work that was put into making it and all the history behind this process). Yet it also has its own symbolism, both as an expression of that expertise and as a reference to the concept linked to a universe of values and meanings. Every object is, therefore, at the center of a system of tangible (the making and selling) and intangible relationships. It bears witness to and defines one world but also prompts consideration of other possible worlds. In other words, an object is an object, a sign, a dream (in the sense of a future possibility). It must be understood. And preserved. An object needs a museum”.

The creation and opening to the public of historic business archives and corporate museums in Italy is a phenomenon that been growing in importance in the field of comparative cultural history since the Second World War. In Italy, there are more than one hundred buildings that can be classified as archives/museums. Within them are paper documents, advertising materials, photographs, videos, artifacts, machinery and production tools. The Touring Turismo Industriale In Italia (Touring Industrial Tourism in Italy) guide, created by Museimpresa in collaboration with Touring Club Italiano, presents the most famous buildings that preserve and exhibit the testaments of this collective memory.