  Since the W and Z discovery, hadron colliders have provided a fertile ground,
in which continuously improving measurements and theoretical predictions allow
to precisely determine the gauge boson properties, and to probe the dynamics of
electroweak and strong interactions. This article will review, from a
theoretical perspective, the role played by the study, at hadron colliders, of
electroweak boson production properties, from the better understanding of the
proton structure, to the discovery and studies of the top quark and of the
Higgs, to the searches for new phenomena beyond the Standard Model.
