“During the Fascist period the State was represented and embodied by Mussolini. With democracy, the government had to face the difficult task of providing a new image of the State, by trying to help citizens to overcome their feeling of mistrust, distance and detachment from public institutions, and to realise their direct involvement in new social and economic processes in democratic Italy. On July 26th, 1951 Alcide De Gasperi formed his seventh Cabinet. The Documentation Centre of the Cabinet started its activity that same year, with the aim of giving back credibility to public institutions and presenting the first positive accounts of the government’s action to public opinion which was confused but nonetheless hopeful for the future. An idea of nationhood had to be defined and disseminated, which would mirror the government’s programme and represent the only winning model, whose password was reconstruction, but most of all assuring basic living conditions for all. The Centre’s Director, Silvano Spinetti, adopted a communication strategy based on multimedia interaction between booklets, posters and documentaries. Great attention is paid to the production of short films by using well-tested techniques found in Luce newsreels in the Thirties. The professional wealth of Instituto Luce was easily put to use to produce many small monuments hailing governmental endeavours. For its cinema activities the Documentation Centre inherited the staff and promotional techniques from Fascist propaganda, but not stressing the prevailing elements of innovation would certainly be a mistake”.

(Maria Adelaide Frabotta)