cartone

Cartone is the Italian word for cardboard or thick paperboard. It denotes a range of sheet materials formed from pressed paper pulp, used for packaging, crafts, and as a drawing or painting support. In everyday use, it can refer to products such as a cassa di cartone (cardboard box) or cartone ondulato (corrugated cardboard).

In the arts, a cartone is a full-scale preparatory drawing or cartoon used to transfer a design onto a larger surface, especially in mural painting and fresco work. These large sheets serve as templates for tracing shapes, figures, and details, reflecting traditional workshop methods before the final painting is produced.

In cinema and popular entertainment, the term is also connected with cartoni animati, or animated cartoons, a usage that echoes the historical role of large drawings and paper cutouts in early animation studios.

From an environmental perspective, cartone is widely recycled in many regions as part of the carta e cartone waste stream. Recovered cardboard fibers can be processed to create new cartons and packaging, reducing resource use and environmental impact compared with virgin materials.