The paper highlights the role played by Giuseppe Montalenti in the dissemination of evolutionism in Italy in the 20th century, from the Thirties to the Seventies. Through a shrewd use of bibliographic policies--translations, introductions to Darwin's and Darwininian works--Montalenti succeeded in popularizing evolutionism, as well as a broader notion of biology, in the comparatively backward cultural and scientific Novecento Italian scene.