The paper aims to illustrate how, between the 19th and 20th centuries, the practice of archival inventory was established even in Italian municipalities, in relation to the calls of the Ministry of the Interior, the indications of a developing discipline and professional manuals exemplifying practices and models. Through the use of diagrams, we trace the development of the inventory in the local context, which initially has a patrimonial connotation, but gradually takes on a cultural function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]