Abstract
Over the years, the international private equity market has been characterized by an almost continuous growth, not only in traditional countries but also in emerging markets. Our country, showed good growth in the sector and recorded big changes both in qualitative and in quantitative terms. The recent international crisis that has upset the balance of world finance has also involved, the Italian private equity market, causing a drastic decrease in business volumes and lots of changes. This paper aims at analyze how, starting from the beginning of the market, the venture capital sector in Italy has grown and has developed, recording excellent results. Nevertheless, there are still several obstacles, recently enphasized by the crisis, limiting the use of venture capital and causing significant differences with the private equity of other European countries.