Institutional Policies for migrant settlements : between formality and informality

This chapter reflects on informal migrant settlements in the rural contexts of Southern Italy. In recent years, following the anti-immigration policy initiated by former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, there has been an increase in anti-migrant sentiment in some areas of the country and many citizens, emotionally overwhelmed by the constant news arriving via the mass media, have expressed concern about the potential impact of immigration on their communities. Considering this issue, this paper analyses the migration phenomenon and the existing or planned institutional responses that should move towards inclusion, integration and problem-solving. This chapter highlights how, to date, there is a regulatory vacuum around the various forms of reception that in fact facilitate forms of exclusion and marginality. The analysis focuses on the housing dimension of migrants in peripheral contexts, instrumentally using the case of Cassibile (SR) as an experience to "measure" the effectiveness of these actions, but at the same time the limits and criticalities that have emerged from the regulatory and social point of view.