The weekly magazine was founded in Rome by Oberdan Catone and Vito De Bellis in 1931.

[2][3] Initially polemic and courageous, after several judicial seizures it gradually ignored political themes and focusing in a humour which was an end in itself, eventually getting a large success and selling over 300,000 copies a week.

[3] In 1955 Marc'Aurelio was acquired by the publisher Corrado Tedeschi who moved the editorial staff in Florence, and the magazine reprised its weekly basis.

[5][6] Many young collaborators of the magazine including Federico Fellini, Steno, Vittorio Metz, Ettore Scola, Cesare Zavattini, Age & Scarpelli, Ruggero Maccari, after the World War II started successful careers in the Italian film industry.

[5][7] In 1973 Delfina Metz (the daughter of Vittorio), with the artistic supervision of Enrico De Seta, shortly relaunched the magazine, which definitively closed the same year after 26 issues.