Multiculturalism in the Mediterranean Basin: An Overview of Recent Immigration in Sicily.

Multiculturalism in Sicily is a value to reposses. The analyzed data show how today the number of immigrants on the island has grown abundantly and how their distribution has affected all the provinces of Sicily. After giving a picture of the nationalities of the migrants most present in Sicily, a distinction was made between the older and therefore more integrated immigrant communities and the more recent ones. The analysis also shows how all immigrants upon their arrival are perceived by the local population as something to be endured. However over time they are transformed into agents of economic development and cultural action to the realization of complex societies in which diversity becomes a source of enrichment through its sharing of knowledge and skills. Today Sicily should therefore increasingly return to its traditional image of the "island of a hundred cultures" and the refusal of the different and the fear for those seen as invaders and "barbarians" should be fought through adequate information aimed at fosterring respect for diversity and preserving the muliple cultures that have contributed and continue to contribute to the island.