The Istituto Luce Archives are not just a source of images concerning the history, politics, and customs of the 20th century, but they are also a surprising collection of filmed documents on the Italian film industry, from its origins up through the 1970s. The idea of producing a “History of the Italian Cinema by Images” came to the authors after they discovered this incredible wealth of material, and in its natural development it automatically came to involve Rai which, in turn, has an impressive collection of filmed documentation on Italian cinema from the 1960s up to the present day. The project will consists of a series of ten 50′ episodes, in which the Luce collection will be merged with the documents from the Rai archives, the Experimental Center photo library, and other public and private collections. The various seasons of Italian filmmaking, with its protagonists, will be presented through thematic chapters devoted to genres, trends, and protagonists. The narration will not be done resorting to the usual film pieces, but will develop through backstage glimpses, profiles of actors, directors, critics, and even politicians who have played a part in cinema history. Mario and Luca Verdone will be responsible for both the editing of the ten episodes and the historic-critical organization of the entire project, while Carlo Verdone will do the biographies of the people who have characterized and helped make the “seventh art” as great as it is.