The (In)visible Romá mobility

Abstract

The Roma issue is a complex, multifaced phenomenon. Existing research on Roma communities in Italy has examined the ways in which recent political debate and policy initiatives have succeeded in reframing the Roma issue exclusively in terms of emergency and public security (Maneri 2018, Piasere 2015, Solimene 2014, Tosi Cambini 2012). Few empirical studies, however, have analysed how the social construction of the Gypsy Problem in Italy is reflected in everyday life. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Cagliari from 2010 until today, this article analyses and discusses how a Xoraxané Romá community’s everyday life changed after the eviction from the nomad camp where they had lived for 30 years. Focusing on cultural processes, three main issues are explored: the “sense of place” and the spatially representation of their identity in the nomad camp; the effects of housing policies promoted in Cagliari; the relation between antigypsism and Romá mobility.