A study examined the volume and quality of distance training in Italy, the bodies most directly interested, and problems and trends. Two factors were singled out that not only led to greater interest in distance training between 1970 and 1980 but also to the first experiments being carried out--the economic crisis and the modernization process. The growth in demand for instruction and training from increasingly broad and new sectors of the population found the public sector incapable of responding appropriately in quantitative terms. Techniques used in the various experiments ranged from the use of very traditional methods (written materials) to others that seemed to anticipate the future (videodisks), from multimedia integration to the use of one aid alone, from measures that use only distance training to others that insert it in a broader context, together with course activities, mixing techniques from different systems. The provision of distance training seemed dominated by a concern to improve professional qualifications in both the public (teacher, vocational training trainers, civil servants) and private sectors. In the future, technological literacy is likely to be the object of most training. Among the anticipated innovations of distance training is the increased importance of the tutor and the fact that distance training experiments can be carried out at the same time as other study or work. (YLB)