This study reconstructs Christo's fortune on the Italian art scene of the 1960s and 1970s, whose works and critical reflections are considered in relation to the artist's projects during this period: primarily the “packages”, then the “show windows” and environmental projects. The research is based on a study of specialised magazines and Italian daily newspapers of the period, focusing on times when Christo's works were displayed in the country or were in any case described and commented on with varying levels of interpretation. Reactions of astonishment and discomfort, praise and rejection, critical evaluation and acceptance were calibrated on the basis of different criteria accordingly in the context of the various historical phases – the economic boom of the 1960s, the utopian ideals of 1968, the political and financial crisi of the 1970s. Independently of any changes of perspective determined by new cultural realities, Christo appears as a constant point of reference for Italian artists and critics: not through his conformity to prevailing tendencies, nor as a result of any contrary, programmatic attempt at eversion, but through his ability to keep the definition of art, the artist's role and the artist's own work continually open.