Campofiorito, a small town in the Palermo province of Italy's southern island Sicily, has welcomed into its midst the highest number of migrants per capita of any area in the nation.

Last year, the town also saw a high number of migrants. Currently, with a population of 1,150 inhabitants, 142 migrants are living in the small town as beneficiaries of the Shelter and Integration System (SAI), Italy's program for asylum seekers, holders of international protection, and other vulnerable individuals.

Since 2023, the SAI project in Campofiorito has been under the direct management of the city council and six of the migrants have received work contracts including two that now have permanent ones.

Two additional migrants were assisted in reception and integration, residents in the Bisacquino and Corleone municipalities.

Also read: Over 54,000 beneficiary migrants in Italian shelter system in 2023

Ten years of success celebrated

On July 6, starting at 6:30 pm, in a central square of the town, a celebration was held for the 10 years of the project with a public debate moderated by the journalist Salvatore Ferro. Videos, music with the quartet Le Matrioske, dancing, and food were provided.

A special guest was Salvatore Petrotta Reyes, a.k.a. Othelloman, a Palermo rapper who presented his new single.

'Virtuous adventure'

The project is "much more than an experiment" " Mayor Giuseppe Oddo said, noting that it could be considered the "fruit, which has yet to ripen further, of a policy and posture that is both mental and ethical and that involves the entire community, aware of the fact that integration is necessary. That it is not necessarily a crisis."

He stressed that "collaboration and real work" are required, adding that "Campofiorito simply follows its nature of being a mentally open and inclusive town. This does not concern only the young migrants received."

"We also, for example, have worked hard to ensure advanced facilities for the handicapped. Moreover, a large part of the population, due to personal or family reasons, is very familiar with emigration -- certainly in a less traumatic and deadly manner, but very significant nonetheless at the existential level."

"I myself was born in Germany," he noted, pointedly.

Also read: Italy: nearly 136,000 asylum requests filed in 2023