A City of One's Own. Territorialities of Migrant Women in Public Spaces

Abstract

Every Sunday morning, dozens of Ukrainian women occupy Garibaldi Square in Naples, especially the pavement in front of the station. They settle there in groups, of three to four women. They discuss and exchange news. Sometimes, in Garibaldi Square, swarms of Neapolitan men move from group to group and try to make contact. They come to look for badanti to enjoy a pleasant moment of flirtation, or even more if sympathy is developed. Ukrainian women have a bad reputation among Italian women: coming alone from their country of origin, they are known as husband stealers. What is certain is that over the years Garibaldi Square and its surroundings have become fundamental places of sociability for these women (Miranda 2006). And if the station square contributes to forging the bad reputation of Ukrainian women, there are other spaces where, thanks to a sense of