Spaces of separation and interaction between "local" and "foreigners" in a village of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines

Abstract

The demographic recovery currently observed in a number of mountain municipalities raises questions about the rooting practices of new inhabitants and the transformation of the places where they live. This article focuses on a locality in the Parma Apennines, where invisible boundaries define the spheres of sociality of the two prevailing components in the population: the “local” one and the one formed by mostly Catholic Sri Lankan immigrants. However, these boundaries are mobile and the separation between those who have stayed and those who have arrived is not always rigid: they rest on unwritten rules and at times they fade. This is the case of the day of Our Lady of Peace, when migrant participation is necessary to carry the effigy in procession because local youths are absent. The article outlines the contexts of interaction between the two populations and explores their relationship with the territory in which they live.