Introduction

Identity categorisations are socio-cultural constructs embedded in discourses of power that locate diversity within a hierarchic frame. This is especially true when identity discourses entail a relation to the nation-state. In Italy, as in most of Europe, media, political and institutional discourses depict 'Gypsies/Roma' as dangerous 'Nomads' and strangers-at-home. As a result, despite various attempts to tackle anti-Gypsyism, Roma and Sinti communities living in Italy are still subject to ethnicisation, racialisation and criminalisation processes as well as spatial segregation, social exclusion and marginalisation. This special issue addresses a critical discussion on the transformation, manipulation and strategic uses of 'Gypsy', 'Roma' and 'Nomad' categories in Italy over the last fifty years. The aim is to offer an in-depth reflection on categorisation processes, the ways in which categorisations are used in different contexts and by different social agents, and their practical effects on Roma and Sinti communities.