L’evoluzione dell’industria automobilistica italiana (1894-2020) attraverso il dataset AUTOITA

The article reconstructs the historical evolution of the Italian automotive industry in the period between 1894 and 2020 through the original AUTOITA database. This database represents the first, and so far unique, dataset covering the entire historical period of the industry in Italy, as well as the first Italian database allowing interna- tional comparisons. First, the article provides a concise qualitative discussion of the evolution of the automotive industry in Italy since the foundation of Bernardi & Miari Giusti in Padua in 1894 up to the first two decades of the 21st century. Subse- quently, it describes the methodology we used to build the AUTOITA database and its characteristics. The paper also proposes a descriptive statistical analysis of the evolution of the Italian automotive industry from 1894 to 2020 as a first example of the use of the database. Finally, the paper focuses on the challenge between Turin and Milan by discussing a few reasons that could explain Turin's leadership despite the fact that, until 1899, the automotive industry was more developed in the Milan area.