Abstract

The article describes the growing phenomenon of company archives and museums, all gathered in Museimpresa, the Italian Association of Corporate Archives and Museums. Museimpresa is a unique network in Europe that plays a central role in the enhancement of the Italian company culture and in the promotion of industrial tourism. In 2017, the agreement between Museimpresa and Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC) has included company archives and museums in the Italian National Museum System, recognizing them as a contemporary museum model. They represent the culture of making, they share it and narrate it in order to contribute to communities' involvement and territories' wealth. What do an Etruscan vase, a Renaissance jewel or an 18th-century shoe have in common with spaghetti, a locomotive, a fashion designer's dress or a racing motorbike? Certainly the hands of men and women who made them, but mainly they are showcased in a museum: an Italian company museum.