The essay begins by recollecting the person and the scholar Umberto Romagnoli. Afterwards, it describes the initiative of the “digital shelfµ of the journal Lavoro e diritto, where Romagnoli’s book Contrattazione e partecipazione. Studio di relazioni industriali in un’azienda italiana was recenlty republished. The work bears witness to an important historical event. The book is, also, of particular interest when it comes to the methodology that the author depicts in the preface and then actually uses. Ultimately, the essay argues that some of Romagnoli’s findings and insights are still relevant to contemporary discussions, albeit referring to a different historical phase