Così lontane, così vicine: le migrazioni interne ieri e oggi

The essays presented in this issue of the review make the point of a structural aspect of the history of contemporary Italy, for a long time underestimated both in science and in public debate and still very current today. These contributions are drawn from research programs very different from each other: historical, sociological, demographic studies involved in rebuilding some pathways related to internal migrations and that, despite their diversity, have been faced with the same problems. The framework that emerges is of a mobile society. The variable mobility can become the reading key for rethinking the relationship between the regional areas of the country, the concepts of development and underdevelopment, the evolution of the labor market, the role of the ruling classes and the own specificities of the urban and rural areas.