Almost a quarter of the total population, with a dramatic growth compared to previous decades: in 1981 this component of the population still amounted to just over seven million, about half of what it is today, and was worth ‘only’ 13 per cent. But if we look ahead using the most recent ISTAT forecasts, we can see that the percentage is destined to grow further, exceeding 30 per cent as early as 2035. These numbers are enough to make it clear what the relevance of the silver economy, the economy that revolves around the elderly, will be in the coming decades: which then will be less and less elderly, at least with respect to today’s parameters and especially yesterday’s. Moreover, the definition is not even unambiguous, because in other contexts the age group involved is broadened to include a quota of people in their fifties, i.e. people who in most cases are still active.