This book provides a complete description of the development of Italian film and cinema from its beginnings in 1895 until today. Special emphasis is placed on those periods in which Italian film history became aesthetically decisive for world cinematography: silent film of the 1910s, neorealism after World War II, and auteur and genre cinema around 1960. And then on the multifaceted development up to the present day, which still guarantees films from Italy a significant place in international cinema. The chapters are introduced with compact descriptions of Italy's political and social history and the institutional formation of film and cinema. This is the basis for the extensive examination of genres and films. The film analyses also include a look at the reception by the audiences.