The 1950s marks the first decade that television was available in Italian homes and this chapter of the country’s TV history is really the story of its public channel, RAI: truly, speaking of Italian television in the 1950s means speaking  of RAI.

Until the 1970s when private channels began appearing, Radio Audizioni Italiane (RAI), which is now known as Radiotelevisione Italiana, was the sole broadcaster in Italy. The state owned public service broadcaster is the first company that brought daily programming to everyday Italians.