Good Romanian gipsy looking for a home

A strong tradition of anthropological studies highlights how institutions tend to produce classifications and put in place a process of framing in which immigrant groups are identified in advance and are therefore constructed as objects of policy. These framings direct social interventions and shape the public perception of the Roma. This article is the result of ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Roma and non Roma Romanian immigrants in four neighbourhoods in Turin, Italy and in Caraș-Severin, their departure region in Romania. Research brought to light complex dynamics by examining some illustrative life stories. In response to the attitude of the institutions, the protagonists of these stories make strategic use of cultural features, exacerbating the difference, or hiding it with processes of mimicry. Some rediscovered their ethnicity, benefitting as “nomads” from special housing projects; some dealt with the features of identity in a “segregating” form; some, despite not having Roma ancestors, in Italy define themselves as “Gypsy”, adopting the distinctive economic survival strategies of the Roma. This research study has shown how, in Italy and in Romania, the boundaries between identity categories are constantly negotiated.‪