ENIT's Historical Archive of Italian Tourism Goes Online

The Italian National Tourism Board (ENIT) has digitized and made publicly accessible its historical archive, containing over 100,000 slides, photographs, and posters documenting Italy's tourism history. The project, initiated for ENIT's centenary in 2019, aims to systematize, catalog, and valorize the collection, with a target of 160,000 items by 2023. The archive includes artistic posters commissioned by ENIT between the 1920s and 1970s to promote Italy abroad, many of which were dispersed and are now being recovered from the market, galleries, and private collections. It also features historical posters and photos from documentary films by renowned Italian director Luciano Emmer, as well as advertising campaigns by top designers from the 1930s-1950s that helped drive post-war recovery and strategic alliances with state entities. The online archive offers simple and advanced search options, high-definition downloads, and a 3D virtual tour with 360-degree navigation, audio guides, and interactive features. ENIT Director Giovanni Bastianelli noted that Italian tourism grew from 900,000 visitors in 1911 to nearly 64 million arrivals today, with economic contribution rising from 2.5 billion lire in 1924 to almost 42 billion euros. Marketing Director Maria Elena Rossi emphasized that ENIT is developing new ways to preserve and share cultural heritage for current and future generations.