I’m a sociologist with a extensive background in political science. Over the last two decades, I have mainly worked on migration, and I am currently the Deputy Director of the Interdepartmental Research and Training Centre MiDiS (Migration, Diversity and Sustainable Development) at UPO. Before that, I was a founding member and Deputy Director of FIERI, an independent Italian research institute focused on social transformations related to migration and cultural diversity.

Since its foundation in 2004, I have been an active member of the largest academic network on migration in Europe, the IMISCOE Research Network on “International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe.”

My main research interests concern migrant integration, where I have sought to conceptualise the effects of economic recessions on integration and  contested the North–South divide in migration policies and patterns. I have also worked extensively on migration and asylum, with a particular focus on multilevel governance and local policymaking, and on migrants’ access to local welfare policies, including in small and medium-sized municipalities. Finally, I have been involved in evaluation of policy interventions at local, regional and national level, training programmes for practitioners, as well as in participatory research on migration issues.