Per la divulgazione delle arti decorative. Il confronto con i periodici europei

This essay will focus on the journal "Arte italiana decorativa e industriale" under the directorship of Camillo Boito. It will discuss its role in promoting historical models for professionals and applied arts school students in connection with serialization and industrialization. Based on Boito's archival documents, the paper will consider the journal's content, and editorial choices that Boito compared to other celebrated European repertories and journals. The broad cosmopolitan scene depicted in Boito's papers and on the pages of his journal drafted the celebration of his pan-European journal, while praising the excellence of the Italian decorative arts. In the second decade of the 20th century, the journal closure marked the end of such an extraordinary editorial experience. It also reflected the small capacity of the Italian entrepreneurial class to develop historical types and models applicable to mass production.