This contribution offers a systematization of aspects tied to the meaning of voluntarism’s presence in Italy’s society. It reconstructs the essential characters of voluntary service and in particular, analyses in depth its dynamics of change, which - as I believe will be clear to the reader by the end of this volume point towards issues of identity, horizons and perspectives. The essay states how triumph, decline and new development perspectives are central moments of a reflection that at the same time contemplates the evolution of the phenomenon of voluntarism in our country, and considers the present changes and future perspectives, which are already revealed by many new elements present in contemporary voluntary service.