At the end of the Second World War emerged in Italy a cinematographic movement which was aiming to create a revolution in worldwide cinema in the years to come. The Neorealism wished to place a mirror in front of an Italian nation morally contaminated by the fascist regime and by the collaboration with Nazi Germany. This cinematographic movement developed a critical vision of the Italian society during the turbulent years of reconstruction after the war and through the mid-fifties, and was marked by a new vision of cinematographic economy and aesthetics. By way of analyses of the most important films of this period and the cinematographic manifestos which intellectually supported them, we will try to unveil the aesthetic, thematic and economic characteristics of Neorealism, as well as the fundamental concepts linked to this movement. The second part of the course will focus on the influence of Neorealism on world cinema, from the French New wave up to Israeli film, questioning also the presence of neorealist aspects in contemporary cinema.