Abstract
In 2016, at the peak of their presence in Italy, more than 40% of the 125,000 asylum seekers registered in the country were hosted/resettled in the mountains: 10% in Alpine municipalities and 30% in the municipalities of the Apennines (Dematteis et al., 2018). Why, how and to what extent has it been possible to receive so many people in these remote, often depopulated and environmentally fragile areas?
In this chapter we analyze the conditions and dynamics that have led to the reception of a significant number of asylum seekers in Italian mountain areas, within a dispersal policy put in place by the national government, through the engagement and activation of local actors (prefectures, munici-palities and NGOs).