This paper is a review of the establishment of experimental archaeology in Italy from an historical perspective: from the first attempts to introduce experimentation in archaeological and Heritage culture, by the end of the 70s (with a clear delay comparing with the rest of Europe), up to its recent systematization. The first experimental approach, both in the academy and university, in Italy occurred in the 80s, with the creation of several institutes devoted to experimentation, as the Italian Institute of Experimental Archaeology (1986) that is still active. This institute has created a team able to experiment with an architecture of archaeological research and subsequent reconstruction on a broad scale.This paper includes also a review of the introduction of experimental archaeology in the academy. Several laboratories of experimental archaeology have been created in Italian universities, specifically integrated into the university teaching program. Finally, this work includes a short revision of the contribution in experimental archaeology by individual scholars, academics or not to the expansion of research, and the role of the archaeological parks.To address this issue, some case studies are reported to highlight the main trends in different regions of Italy.