This document discusses the history and development of radio documentaries in Italy from the 1920s to the 1950s. It begins by defining John Grierson's concept of documentary as the creative treatment of actuality through edited shots and voiceovers. It then covers the origins of radio broadcasts in fascist Italy and the early use of radio chronicles. After World War 2, radio documentaries aimed to represent postwar Italian life and society. The period of greatest growth was in the 1940s-60s with the emergence of radio neo-realism alongside Italian cinematic neo-realism. Two genres that developed were ethno-anthropological documentaries and historical-geographical documentaries intended to represent Italian reality. An example of the latter was

1. by Daniela FLORIS and Ettore PACETTI

3. Premises
 John Grierson (1898 – 1972), «father» of the
word documentary.
 Documentary: the creative treatment of
actuality(1926):
 Actuality: the events of reality captured by the operator
with their sounds and their images at the very moment
they are produced.
 Creative treatment: the editing of the shots according to a
precise expressive intent and, above all, the addition of a
comment, usually told by a voice-over, with the function of
illustrating the author's perspective and his interpretation
of narrated facts.

4. The origins in Italy and the years of fascism
 Beginning of radio broadcasts in Italy: 6
October 1924. For two years, Italy had been
under fascism.
 Radio-chronicles, first forms of radio
documentary.
 1931 Voci del mondo (Voices of the World):
first radio documentary experiment of the
Italian radio, with sounds and voices
coming from the world of work, daily life,
natural environments.

5. Postwar Period
 With the end of the Second World War,
the radio tries to gain public confidence
again. The greatest urgency is to
represent the aspects of Italy linked to
the world of work and social life, to the
misery and backwardness of the rural
world, which Fascism had kept hidden.

6. Radio Neo-realism
The moment of greatest progress of the
radio documentary, between the late
Forties and the early Sixties of the last
century, simultaneously to the birth of
cinematographic Neorealism,
represented by the works of Vittorio de
Sica, Roberto Rossellini, Giuseppe De
Santis, Luchino Visconti and other
cinematographic directors.

7. Ethno-antropological Documentary and Historical-geographical Documentary.
 Around 1945. The need to make a
renewal of the disciplines based on the
study of the condition of man in society
begins to be felt.
 The ethno-anthropological documentary
and the historical-geographical
documentary are born.

8. Ethno-antropological Documentary
 The Italian ethno-anthropological documentary
was born towards the end of the fifties of the
last century around the work of the great
ethnologist, anthropologist and historian of
religions Ernesto De Martino (1908 – 1965).
 His most important radio documentary was
Expedition in Lucania, recorded between 1952
and 1953.

9. Historical-geographical Documentary.
Like the ethno-
anthropological
documentary, the historical-
geographical documentary
obeys the need to represent
the Italian reality in its
authenticity.

10. Viaggio in Italia di Guido Piovene
 Guido Piovene (1907 –
1974)
 Journey to Italy was a cycle
of radio documentaries on
the regions of Italy,
commissioned by RAI
between May 1953 and
October 1956 and
broadcast from 6
December 1954 to 17
December 1956.

11. Characteristics of Piovene's Journey to Italy
 In the documentaries of Journey to Italy the cultural
deepening merges with the social and economic
analysis.
 The characteristics are those typical of the radio
documentary:
 A voiceover, represented by the speaker who is entrusted with
the narration.
 Readings of texts concerning the areas visited.
 Direct testimonies of protagonists and anonymous inhabitants
of the regional realities interviewed during the various
inspections.
 Voices and ambient sounds collected in the places visited

12. Narrative structure of Piovene's Journey to Italy
 The structure followed by Piovene is
generally successfully maintained for
each region:
 Description from the geophysical, historical
and artistic point of view.
 Analysis of the distinctive traits, customs
and mentality of the inhabitants.

13. The RAI Teche project
 Digitization of historical-geographical
documentaries still preserved on
analogue supports.
 Insertion of metadata for digitized
materials to ensure greater ease of
consultation and full availability of
content.
 Publication of documents filed in
research portals based on
homogeneous information criteria.

14. The pages of the RAI Teche web site where you can find ethno-
anthropological and historical-geographical documentaries
Radio Documentaries:
http://www.teche.rai.it/viaggio-in-italia/
http://www.teche.rai.it/il-documentario-alla-
radio/
Radio and TV Documentaries:
http://www.teche.rai.it/archivio-del-folclore-
italiano/

15. Journey to Italy of Piovene’s page in RAI Teche web
site

16. I Listening: Venice (Veneto). Card game
Contribution
recorded in Venice.
Card game in the
taverns.

17. II Listening: Piana del Cansiglio (Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia). The «canata»
 Document recorded in the Veneto area of Piana del
Cansiglio. The so-called "canata", a term that derives
from “cane” (dog), describes the custom of making
fun of a person for some of his defects or behavior,
attacking him jokingly in a group just like a pack of
dogs that surround the prey. In this case, some
peasants of the surroundings Conegliano, a town
near Treviso, describe this custom to a fellow citizen,
twice widower, who marries for the third time at the
age of 65.

18. III Listening: Palermo (Sicily). The market.
 Document registered at the Palermo market. It
illustrates the custom by vendors of using
"auctioneers“, a kind of of heralds, that
illustrate the merchandise with improvised
musical phrases. In the document, the tender is
played between two auctioneers, one younger
and the other older, with a more classic style, to
show the advantages of the merchandise to be
sold, in this case, broomsticks.

19. Memory is a scribe
who lives inside man
JUAN DE ARANDA
SALAZAR

20. Many Thanks
ettore.pacetti@rai.it