Etnic Entrepreneurs and Neapolitan Society

Although most of the immigrants integrate into the job market predominantly in unskilled labor, there are xamples of effective integration into the local productive social fabric. The aim of this report is to analyze two typologies of paths in which immigrants are actors in the Neapolitan production industry. In the first case, we take into account the craftsmen who integrate themselves into local manufacturing. As these immigrants develop traditional craftsmanship (such as the production of nativity figurines) and in gastronomy (such as pizza making), they learn techniques and expertise that are peculiar to Neapolitan culture; in turn, they add their own cultural identity. In the second case, we investigate some entrepreneurs who started their own ethnic business in the restaurant industry or in the retail and wholesale trade. In each case, transformations of roles and positions of the immigrants within metropolitan economy will be examined. On one hand, we will consider their sense of belonging to transnational communities, on the other hand, we will analyze the effects of their activities on changing the image of the migrants themselves from the perspective of the local residents.