Vincenzo Rosato (a cura di), Dossier: Accoglienza e inserimento dei migranti / Welcome and integration of migrants (Introduzione / Introduction, pp. 179-182), pp. 179-319

Ginevra Demaio, Dall’Italia all’Albania: una storia di andate e ritorni / From Italy to Albania: a long history of going back and forth, pp. 183-193

The paper describes the various stages of the relationship between Albania and Italy from 1900 to 2000, with Italy occupying a privileged position. The first part of the article recalls the principal moments of the Italian presence in Albania, focusing on Fascism and its pervasive control on both the Albanian trade and administration between 1939 and 1943: something which allowed numerous Italian companies to work safely and profitably and prompted many Italians to move to that country. The second part of the paper analyzes the commercial and collaborative agreements between the two countries and underscores how migration has the power to transform both the arrival and the departure societies, by renewing the ancient bond between the two countries. The third and final part of the paper focuses on the current situation and analyses the size and characteristics of the Italian living in Albania or currently active as entrepreneurs in the country, the Albanians living in Italy, the arbëreshë communities still located in different regions of southern Italy.

Luigi Mosca, Carrefour e Kalifoo: il caporalato e i lavoratori immigrati nella Provincia di Caserta / Carrefour and Kalifoo: undocumented immigrant workers in the Province of Caserta, pp. 195-210

This paper aims at analyzing the forms of employment of undocumented immigrants in some areas of the Province of Caserta. Through the analysis of two expressions, the carrefour and the kalifoo, which indentify the job search through the illegal hiring, I propose a reading of the work experience of migrants as a metaphor for the whole migration experience in this part of the Campania Region. Carrefour and kalifoo are two metaphors of the social, political, economical, cultural and territorial hierarchy in which migrants are placed. Lack of citizenship rights, social subordination and spatial marginalization are the coordinates that define migrations and job search. Furthermore, since this territory has been a laboratory where new policies against undocumented migrations and criminal organizations were tested, this work aims at evaluating the real effects of these policies from the perspective of undocumented migrants.

Lluís Samper Rasero, Jordi Garreta Bochaca, Etnia e migrazione: discorso sull’identità e alterità nella Catalogna rurale / Ethnicity and migration: an essay on identity and diversity in rural Catalonia, pp. 211-232

During the 20th century, the core of Catalan identity has basically been ethno-linguistic: “us”, the “Catalans”, versus “them”, the “Spanish speakers”. This socio-cultural aspect of nationalism has, however, now been questioned with the arrival of important numbers of “new immigrants” during the last two decades, most of whom have come from outside the European Union. The present work analyses this phenomenon through the combined use of survey analysis and focus groups in a comarca of rural Catalonia. The conclusions from this study point to the complex, multi-faceted nature of the formation of social identity and to the importance of the emotional dimension of its perception. In this work we also present an evaluation of the migratory processes that have had an important impact in this rural context as they are generally recognised to have in urban contexts.

José Manuel Azcona, Struttura ed elementi identitari dell’emigrazione spagnola durante il franchismo (1958-1975) / Structure and elements of identity of the Spanish migration during the dictatorship of Franco (1958-1975), pp. 233-266

This article describes how the official emigration towards Western Europe and America was treated during Franco’s dictatorship in Spain. Since its creation in 1956, the Spanish Emigration Institute (IEE) became the institution which directed the migratory flows, trying to organise them, canalise them and provide them with both an organizational and social protection structures. The author used the official figures of Franco’s regimen and the very interesting records of the IEE, in order to explain the high volume of the Spanish migration and the typology of the emigrant under this official perspective.

Maria do Rosário Rolfsen Salles, Sênia Regina Bastos, L’immigrazione italiana in Brasile nel secondo dopoguerra: il profilo degli ingressi e delle traiettorie / Italian immigration in Brazil after the Second World War: the profile of entrances and trajectories, pp. 267-288

The present work aims at describing the profile of the arrival of Italian immigrants in Brazil in the Post-II World War period as a result of the agreements signed between Brazil and Italy in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The documental sources are systematized in a databank (Access), which gathers information about the arrival of immigrants of various nationalities, with the support of the International Refugees Organization (IRO), Intergovernmental Committee for European Migrations (CIME), and Japan Immigration and Colonization (JAMIC).

Susana Novick, Migrazioni nel Cono Sud: politiche, attori e processi d’integrazione / Migrations in the Cono-Sur: policies, actors and processes of integration, pp. 289-319

The author gives a description of the Mercosur area, analyzing various realities and highlighting the different projects implemented and steps taken in order to eliminate borders and creating new ways of interaction, especially among newcomers. On many occasions the immigrants are welcomed and helped in integrating in the new territory, although many plans are not yet implemented in all countries. A comparison between immigration policies in Uruguay and Paraguay shows how different sometimes the implementation can be and what trends the governments follow in order to prevent certain issues or situations with immigrants. For sure, the dialogue and comparison have been quite positive, and yet more efforts must be made to ensure a more welcoming attitude towards immigrants and their active participation in the building of new societies.

Matteo Sanfilippo, Le autobiografie di migranti italiani / The autobiographies of Italian migrants, pp. 321-333

In 1992 Father Gianfausto Rosoli posed a number of questions concerning the historical value of migrant autobiographies that still remain unsolved. He particularly questioned the literary and documentary value of those texts. Several historians reflected subsequently upon similar questions, especially Emilio Franzina, and tried to avoid categories forged by literary criticism. Moreover, the increasing recollection of popular autobiographies has led historians to write more balanced judgments on the characteristics of this form of popular writing.