ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at the impact of American models and ideas on Italian architecture and society between the 1920s and the early years of the Marshall Plan, with a focus on the fields of industry and production. It considers the different forms assumed by the Italian–American exchange, in particular technical missions, exchange projects and official bi-lateral initiatives. The book also deals with two examples of individuals who played a central role in mediating American-imported information: the architect and critic Bruno Zevi and the industrialist Adriano Olivetti. It also takes into consideration the modifications in domestic life and housing design that occurred between the second half of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s as examples of successful dissemination in Italy of US-originated architectural models.
