The first Roma arrived in Italy in the XV century, and according to the available chronicles from that era, their main occupations were slightly different depending on the area in which they were settling. More specifically, Roma communities living in rural areas would likely be integrated locally, and would therefore pick up on the activities performed by the hosting groups, who were mainly shepherds or farmers; conversely, Roma living in bigger cities or moving from city to city because of their needs, would instead keep on doing the job for which they were traditionally very famous all over Europe: blacksmiths and metalworking. 

These tendencies were widespread and documented throughout Italy, and throughout the following centuries Roma continued working in these sectors, and at some point they were basically the only ones who kept performing these jobs outside of Corporations. Corporations were associations of people working in the same trade or profession, which regulated their members' work, set quality standards, fixed prices, and protected their economic interests. Roma were not included in Corporations, and therefore they worked outside of these organizations and carried out smaller jobs, like collecting, distributing, and processing of metals. Being involved in more marginal economic activities, Roma were not highly well-paid, and had to travel among several cities to work enough to survive.

Pushed by the need of making a living, Roma would change their main occupation following maybe the cycle of seasons or the necessities of local inhabitants. For this reason, some scholars have described the attitude of Roma to working as “void fillers”, precisely because they would try to make ends meet by entering small job niches that others would not find or would discard, and at a lower price compared to non-Roma workers. For example, they would reconvert the skills acquired in the field of metalworking and horsemanship into shoeing for horses, something which the general audience still links to Roma today.

In addition to these more traditional occupations, in the XIX century Some Roma families began to develop a more organized structure within certain working niches, to the point that, in some cases, some scholars even propose a comparison with capitalist enterprises. One of these cases is undoubtedly that of families involved in circus and circus art, traveling shows, and amusement parks. In Italy, these families were often Sinti with an itinerant lifestyle who are still widely recognized because they keep being the most notorious circus performers in the country. The most famous families in the circus industry in Italy are the Orfei and Togni ones, who are of Sinti origines. In both cases, the origins of their involvement in circus arts are difficult to reconstruct, and many stories are mixed with legends and hearsay evidence. 

As of today, the occupational prospects for Roma, many of whom came to Italy during the 1990s, are still scarce, and they are often locked up in some niches, which are often at the border between legal and illegal economy. As it has already been mentioned in the other articles of this series about the current situation of Roma in Italy, their marginalization in the job market and economy is strongly linked with their status and, for example, with issues such as living in the outskirts of cities and having low educational levels, that often make Roma less attractive in terms of jobs compared to non-Roma or Roma that are already more or less integrated in the society in which they live.

According to the National Strategy for Equality, Inclusivity, and Participation of Roma and Sinti 2021-2030 (Strategia Nazionale di uguaglianza, inclusione e partecipazione di Rom e Sinti 2021-2030), the already existing problems concerning Roma and their occupational conditions have been further damaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, those who were active in the field of leisure and entertainment were forced to stop working because all amusement parks and circuses remained closed for many, many months. At the same time, the other traditional jobs performed by Roma, like blacksmiths and artisans, are increasingly less relevant in economic terms because they are getting replaced by mass-produced goods that are cheaper and of lower quality, whose life as products are much shorter than in the past. Other jobs that often see the involvement of Roma are the maintenance of public green and gardens, waste separation, and street-cleaning. Some of them have joined social cooperatives which aim at contrasting violations of labour rights, undeclared work, and illegal hiring, of which Roma are often victims due to a lack of legal and economic resources to protect themselves.

For all these reasons, the National Strategy highlights some possible areas of intervention, but with strong emphasis on the necessity to address all these issues comprehensively, because improving job conditions is almost impossible without focusing on the problems linked with education or housing. Nevertheless, the National Strategy has identified some specific goals that need to be reached to foster the integration of Roma in the job market, such as specific fundings and investments to promote the training and hiring of Roma, as well as the development of programs tailored on the experience and needs of the single Roma individual who is willing to be integrated in the Italian job system.

The National Strategy also includes some points regarding the integration in the market of Roma women, although probably without paying enough attention to some difficulties that may come from the perception and structure of Roma families, in which women are still more often than not responsible for the house and children, while men go to work. Other suggested solutions focus on an increase in the digital literacy of Roma, and programs meant to encourage children to go to school, while also explaining to parents the pros of getting a proper education.

In conclusion, the more we explore the current living conditions of Roma in Italy, the more evident it is that the whole situation cannot be solved without considering the profound interrelations among the various issues. The developers of the National Strategy seem aware of how complex the whole issue is, but it doesn’t look like politicians are equally aware, even though they ultimately have the power to adopt policies to fight discrimination and to boost integration. Working is undoubtedly one of the greatest tools for integration, because those who are perceived to be useful for the society and respected for the work they do, will likely be more accepted by the community in which they live.