Passato e presente. La recitazione nelle monografie italiane dedicate agli attori di cinema

This article traces the academic legitimization of acting and stardom studies within the Italian university system over the last twenty-five years. Historically overshadowed by director-centered approaches or semiotic analyses of film language, the study of actors began to gain scholarly prominence in the early 2000s through a series of pivotal conferences in Udine and Turin. The article examines the evolution of the Italian publishing landscape, highlighting the transition from purely anecdotal journalistic biographies to rigorous scientific monographs characterized by archival research, detailed bibliographies, and interdisciplinary methodologies—often migrating from theater studies. Key milestones discussed include the founding of the Research Center for Acting and Stardom (CRAD) in Turin and major collaborative projects like the Quaderni degli attori milanesi and the PRIN 2017 "F-ACTOR" project, which aligned Italian research with international star and celebrity studies. A central theme is the analysis of acting as a specific object of study, as seen in Mariapaola Pierini’s 2011 monograph on Gary Cooper, which pioneered an analytical focus on performance techniques such as gesture, voice, and micromimicry. Finally, the article concludes its survey with the recent "archival turn" and new editorial initiatives that systematize the study of Italian stars (e.g., Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, and Marcello Mastroianni) through an intermedial and multifocal lens.