Just what does the average gallery-goer know about Neo-Dada, Nouveau Réalisme, or the other art terms and movements that have followed close upon one another particularly in this century? If the ideas behind those works are unknown, then an understanding of the different historical moments becomes difficult and at times arbitrary. It occurred to me that a small vademecum was necessary, a pocket manual that would serve as an introduction handbook rather than a volume of serious art criticism. A valid instrument for the viewer to walk, without feeling lost, through the field of contemporary art.Therefore, I spoke first to Loredana Parmesani, a young and attentive art critic, about my idea, and she agreed to write such a book. That is how this volume came about. (Giorgio Marconi)