Note sulla xenofobia in Italia oggi

The issue of xenophobia is recurrent in the cultural and political debate. This topic should be discussed within precise historical and geo-political boundaries. On the historical side, Italy has been for a long time a country of emigration, and its citizens could be subjected to prejudice and discrimination in the countries of destination. Since the Eighties, Italy has become a country of destination of important migratory flows. In geo-political terms, Italy's position at the center of the Mediterranean Sea has favoured the landing of immigration from North Africa and the Middle East, even for migrants directed to other European countries. Xenophobia is discussed with reference to three aspects: its psychosocial roots, its conditions of development, and its manifestations.