A group of researchers from Bank of Italy has been recently carrying out comparative investigations about different aspects of the Italian industrial districts experience, marking a turning point in this field of study. Their outcomes turn out to be essential at least from two standpoints. On the one hand, they provides reliable measurements of the performances acquired and consolidated by the districts. On the other one they paves the way for perspectives of future researches. In this paper, after a bird's eye view of Italian studies on industrial districts, the authors discuss some of those researchers' findings. This has been done with regards to three basic points: whetherdistrict firms are more productive than their competitors, thanks to the particular environment in which they operate; whether the advantages of district environment translate into an higher capacity to compete on international markets; the industrialdistrict (so-called) labour market features.