Abstract

The aim of this article is to explain how Italian corporate museums can have another role than the principal one of tool for «Heritage marketing» for the firms that finance them (in Italy, in comparison with other European countries, the best part of museums about industrial brands are funded by private factories). Here, after a brief description of the nature of corporate museums in Italy, its functions and the differences with respect to other countries, we wish to show how these structures can play also a role for economic development for this country and explain at large the impact of these structures on two principal topics for Italy: tourism and the preservation and valorisation of Italian industrial culture. A bibliography on this subject is also offered.