Constitutional and Regional Understandings of Citizenship in Italy: Between Inclusion and Exclusion

Most of the Italian welfare state is entrusted to Regions whereby regional policies delineate a sort of regional citizenship that is characterized by the enjoyment of social rights. While in some Regions the universal dimension of regional citizenship has been defended against the more repressive forms adopted by the state legislation in the area of immigration, in other Regions--prompted by the economic crisis--repeated attempts have been made to restrict access to social benefits by adopting the criterion of 'seniority of residence' on a Region's territory, a criterion that mostly excludes foreigners. On several occasions, the Constitutional Court of Italy has confirmed that the adoption of distinctions among the recipients of social policies based on citizenship and the criterion of 'seniority' of residence is illegitimate, even though there are some ambiguities that cause concern.