The article examines the peculiar apects of film seriality in Italy during the silent period. A detailed analysis of the genre's filmography is undertaken to show how the majority of the titles produced in this field between 1915 and 1926 are based on foreign (and especially French) literary sources. This phenomenon is interpreted through Antonio Gramsci's critique of Italian popular culture and, more specifically, his oft-cited contention about Italy's congenital lack of a national-popular culture.