Ernesto De Martino e gli zingari invisibili

There is a strong possibility that Ernesto de Martino met “Gypsies” either directly or indirectly during his researches in southern Italy, and the absence of references to “Gyspsies” in his works are therefore rather striking. After a brief survey of de Martino’s research patterns, this article offers possible explanations for this “invisibility”. The author argues that de Martino’s absorption on the political effort necessary to support the “world of the southern peasants” and his focalization on semantics rather than on the performance of rituals contributed to reduce his attention for socio-cultural diversities, Roma included, in southern Italy. Some of the effects of this opacity on contemporary Italian anthropology is reflected upon in the conclusions.