The article examines government policy in respect of foreign immigration in Italy from the 1960s to present day. The author links the policies adopted towards immigration within the different historical contexts in which they were developed, and highlights the priorities chosen by the ruling class, the concrete functioning of the legal provisions and the effects these have had on society. A complex picture emerges, namely the growth of foreign immigration corresponding to the emergence of conflicts which, in turn, have led to an increasingly fraught public debate.
Keywords: Immigration; History; Migration Policies; Contemporary Italy.