Diaspora Policies and Social Protection in Italy

According to some estimates, about 60 million people of Italian origin live outside of Italy today. To manage and, at first, encourage emigration, Italy has historically built a composite diaspora infrastructure which is discussed in the first part of this chapter. Doing so, we demonstrate that instruments to consult and represent politically citizens abroad are core features of Italy’s diaspora engagement policies.
In the second part of this chapter, we examine the social protection dimension of diaspora more closely and highlight the central role played by the Patronati (welfare advice agencies). We show that Patronati are to this day a unique institution at international level, by which Italians abroad can be helped, free of charge, to gain access to social protection in Italy and abroad.