M.A.I. dire Musei Artistici Industriali
Gerardo de Simone, Emanuele Pellegrini
The Musei Artistici Industriali (or MAI), an Italian version of the museums of “arts and industries”, “für angewandte Kunst” or “des arts et métiers” scattered all over Europe across the nineteenth century, and & ourished especially from the 1880s on. After a golden age, which lasted approximately thirty years, a slow
process of decline started and unfortunately goes on today. MAI owned extremely rich collections of both
original artworks from Antiquity to Modern Age, and contemporary art objects which in many cases were
created by students. Their history and in particular their collections still represent a veritable treasure for
Italian cultural heritage, and together with the Academy of Fine Arts and “traditional” museums MAI could
play a key role in the educational path of contemporary students, artists and artisans.