On April 17, 2025, Professor Isabella Clough Marinaro of John Cabot University delivered a compelling lecture titled "Between Law and Reality: Why Italian Policies Fail the Most Vulnerable," hosted by the Johns Hopkins' SAIS Europe Student Government Association. Drawing on two decades of sociological research, Professor Marinaro provided a nuanced examination of Italy's persistent struggle to implement effective policies for marginalised populations.

Marinaro began by recounting her early fieldwork in the 1990s, which revealed the stark realities of Roma life in Italy: informal camps marked by poor housing, lack of basic services, and exclusion from education and employment. She highlighted that early policy responses were largely based on stereotypical views of Roma as nomads, resulting in segregated camps that isolated rather than integrated communities. These policies were crafted without Roma participation, leading to ineffective, often counterproductive, outcomes.

The speaker described these challenges as "dynamic" and "complex" problems, where issues of housing, labour, education and legal recognition are intrinsically interlinked. Italian policies have routinely failed as they continue to address isolated issues, without considering their place in the broader social ecosystem. Marinaro cited the example of the 2008 "nomad emergency" decree, which securitised Roma camps and was eventually struck down for ethnic discrimination. This illustrates how punitive measures exacerbated social exclusion over resolving it.

Marinaro traced the evolution of policy frameworks, noting the influence of the EU's multi-dimensional Roma integration strategies. Italy's 2012 national plan recognized the need to move beyond camps and include Roma voices in policymaking. However, implementation has been uneven across Italy's various regions. In Rome, despite political promises under Mayor Raggi to dismantle camps for 'dignified' housing, many Roma faced displacement to isolated settlements, resulting in social fragmentation, job losses, and educational disruption for children.

An especially poignant example was the 2021 demolition of a longstanding Roma camp during a COVID-19 eviction ban, which led to increased homelessness and health risks for the community. This underscored the gap between legal protections and on-the-ground realities - a central distinction across Marinaro's talk.

Marinaro connected these issues to broader structural problems of informal labour and exploitation in Italy, especially in agriculture. Her research has explored how multidimensional informalities in governance, housing, and economic activity intersect with social justice issues. She pointed to recent collaborative governance initiatives in labour rights as hopeful models to address vulnerabilities more effectively than the fragmentation of the past.

Overall, Marinaro's presentation highlighted the complex interplay between law, policy, and lived experiences in Italy's treatment of its most vulnerable populations. Her work calls for inclusive, sustained, and multi-dimensional policies which actively engage marginalised communities as active participants rather than passive subjects. The event offered a critical reflection on the urgent need for governance to bridge the gap legal theory, policy and practise.

Organized by the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe Student Government Association

Isabella Clough Marinaro is Professor of Sociology and Italian Studies at John Cabot University, Rome.

She teaches courses in political and social science with a focus on crime studies. Her most recent research has focused on changing forms of crime and multidimensional informalities in contemporary Italy. She is now working on various projects exploring how social movements in Italy campaign on issues of crime, legislative reform and social justice.

Marinaro has recently published the book: Inhabiting Liminal Spaces: Informalities in Governance, Housing, and Economic Activity in Contemporary Italy (2022). She previously co-edited two books: Italian Mafias Today: Territory, Business and Politics (2019) and Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City (2014).