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Photos: A tale of Riace, Italy’s global village veering far right

Following the recent European parliamentary elections, the small town of Riace in Calabria has become a symbol of Italy’s shift to the right wing with the victory of Lega Nord leader and Interior minister Matteo Salvini’s and of the party's "Italians first" slogan, after having been for a long time a model of integraation for thousands of migrants who had settled and thrived among the locals for a number of years.

Updated on: Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM IST

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A band player prepares before a funeral ceremony in Riace, southern Italy. Following the recent European elections, the small town of Riace in Calabria has become a symbol of Italy’s right-wing Lega Nord leader and Interior minister Matteo Salvini’s victory, after having been for a long time an integration model for thousands of migrants. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

A band player prepares before a funeral ceremony in Riace, southern Italy. Following the recent European elections, the small town of Riace in Calabria has become a symbol of Italy’s right-wing Lega Nord leader and Interior minister Matteo Salvini’s victory, after having been for a long time an integration model for thousands of migrants. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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A hand painted road sign “Welcome to the Global Village” still hangs in the small town, but its dream of migrant integration is over after the far-right’s “Italians first” election victory. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

A hand painted road sign “Welcome to the Global Village” still hangs in the small town, but its dream of migrant integration is over after the far-right’s “Italians first” election victory. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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The newly elected mayor of Riace, Antonio Trifoli in the town hall. Trifoli was first on the independent “Riace reborn” list, backed by the Lega, whose supporters provided many of the 41.8% of the 1,103 votes he won. “The problem is that we had too many migrants and we lost the spirit of openness there was initially, a whole economic system developed with the migrants, but without making the village dynamic again... The model destroyed itself,” he said. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

The newly elected mayor of Riace, Antonio Trifoli in the town hall. Trifoli was first on the independent “Riace reborn” list, backed by the Lega, whose supporters provided many of the 41.8% of the 1,103 votes he won. “The problem is that we had too many migrants and we lost the spirit of openness there was initially, a whole economic system developed with the migrants, but without making the village dynamic again... The model destroyed itself,” he said. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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A view of a boat sculpture with flags of various African, Middle-Eastern and Asian countries. “We will welcome refugees again. But we can’t have 500 to 600 asylum seekers in a town with 1,500 residents,” Trifoli said. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

A view of a boat sculpture with flags of various African, Middle-Eastern and Asian countries. “We will welcome refugees again. But we can’t have 500 to 600 asylum seekers in a town with 1,500 residents,” Trifoli said. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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The sign at an abandoned ethnic shop reads “The potter of Kabul”. Former mayor Domenico “Mimmo” Lucano encouraged migrants and refugees to come to the village. Subsequently in 2010, German director Wim Wenders made a documentary featuring the leftist mayor and Riace’s refugees, but last year Lucano was placed under house arrest for allegedly setting up fake marriages to help foreign women stay in the country after their asylum applications were rejected. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

The sign at an abandoned ethnic shop reads “The potter of Kabul”. Former mayor Domenico “Mimmo” Lucano encouraged migrants and refugees to come to the village. Subsequently in 2010, German director Wim Wenders made a documentary featuring the leftist mayor and Riace’s refugees, but last year Lucano was placed under house arrest for allegedly setting up fake marriages to help foreign women stay in the country after their asylum applications were rejected. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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Secretary of the Lega Nord for the Riace marina area, Claudio Falchi poses by a billboard of Riace. He moved here 25 years ago, “Here, we need order and discipline; it’s not racism, it’s just that this is our home. We welcome them and then they make problems”. Until a few years ago, the Lega was a separatist party at the other end of the country which sneeringly referred to southerners as “bumpkins” or worse. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

Secretary of the Lega Nord for the Riace marina area, Claudio Falchi poses by a billboard of Riace. He moved here 25 years ago, “Here, we need order and discipline; it’s not racism, it’s just that this is our home. We welcome them and then they make problems”. Until a few years ago, the Lega was a separatist party at the other end of the country which sneeringly referred to southerners as “bumpkins” or worse. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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A view of the Riace Marina. Colourful, multi-ethnic murals can still be seen on walls, testimony to the experiment that took place here and the hopes for migrant integration it spawned in Italy and beyond, before it failed amid alienated locals and allegations of fraud. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

A view of the Riace Marina. Colourful, multi-ethnic murals can still be seen on walls, testimony to the experiment that took place here and the hopes for migrant integration it spawned in Italy and beyond, before it failed amid alienated locals and allegations of fraud. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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Taking in refugees gave Riace prestige around the world but its inhabitants lost interest. Over the years the town took in around 6,000 migrants, opened shops and workshops and even launched its own currency stamped with the heads of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. But that model of tolerance and inclusion has disappeared.”Almost everyone has gone. There aren’t even any more children,” said Daniel, a 37-year-old Ghanaian, in perfect Italian. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

Taking in refugees gave Riace prestige around the world but its inhabitants lost interest. Over the years the town took in around 6,000 migrants, opened shops and workshops and even launched its own currency stamped with the heads of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. But that model of tolerance and inclusion has disappeared.”Almost everyone has gone. There aren’t even any more children,” said Daniel, a 37-year-old Ghanaian, in perfect Italian. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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Laundry hangs to dry across a street. The shops and workshops previously occupied by migrants are now shuttered. The village’s historic streets are largely deserted, with funereal music occasionally punctuating the silence. On the southern island of Lampedusa, where many migrants arrived after making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, the Lega won more than 45% of votes. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

Updated on Jun 09, 2019 5:35 PM

Laundry hangs to dry across a street. The shops and workshops previously occupied by migrants are now shuttered. The village’s historic streets are largely deserted, with funereal music occasionally punctuating the silence. On the southern island of Lampedusa, where many migrants arrived after making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, the Lega won more than 45% of votes. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP)

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