The paper gives an overview of Italian folklore since the end of World War II to the institutionalization of folklore studies during the last 20 years of the 20th century. The article lists the magazines and institutions of that time and focuses especially on the review "Il Folklore italiano" and the handbooks of folklore written by Raffaele Corso and Giuseppe Cocchiara. The intellectual drive on the one hand and the expansive ambitions of the fascist regime and its desire for the ideological submission of peasant people on the other hand, led to an upswing of folklore studies. Folklore was first taught at primary schools and then at secondary schools and universities as well.