Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis Worker Agency Immobility Practices and Masculine Identities Among Albanians in Southern Europe Iraklis Dimitriadis Full Chapter

Migrant Construction Workers in Times
of Crisis: Worker Agency, (Im)mobility

Practices and Masculine Identities
among Albanians in Southern Europe
Iraklis Dimitriadis
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Migrant Construction
Workers in Times of Crisis
Worker Agency, (Im)mobility Practices
and Masculine Identities among Albanians
in Southern Europe
Iraklis Dimitriadis
Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis
“This timely research contributes to our understanding of migrant agency in

dealing with crises – the European financial crisis but also more recently the
pandemic crisis – looking at how spatial mobility and immobility can be part of
migrant strategies for addressing job loss. The book is a great companion to
anyone who works on migration in southern Europe but also to those who are
mainly interested on migrant agency, while also bringing in new insights to
masculinity and family dynamics in migration.”
—Professor Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in
Migration and Integration
“The construction sector, while being so important for the employment of

immigrant workers, has been under-researched in the field of migration studies.
And the agency of migrants, especially during periods of economic recession,
has been equally neglected. This valuable book fills this double gap with an
insightful and brilliant research study.”
—Maurizio Ambrosini, Full Professor of Sociology of Migrations, Department of
Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan
“An empirically solid book that innovatively explores the relationships between
working conditions, family dynamics, and intra-European mobility trajectories
of migrant workers, employed in a very important yet under-studied segment of
the labour market. Iraklis Dimitriadis highlights the complex embroidery of
individual agencies within and through structural constraints and barriers.”
—Prof. Francesco Della Puppa, Department of Philosophy and Cultural
Heritage, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Iraklis Dimitriadis
Migrant Construction
Workers in Times of
Crisis
Worker Agency, (Im)mobility Practices
and Masculine Identities among
Albanians in Southern Europe
Iraklis Dimitriadis
Department of Sociology and Social Research
University of Milano-Bicocca
Milan, Italy
ISBN 978-3-031-18797-1 ISBN 978-3-031-18798-8 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18798-8
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
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Preface
This book derives from my doctoral thesis within the NASP PhD
Programme in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research at the
Universities of Milan and Turin. The desire to write this book was born
in 2014 when I started research on the lives of migrant construction
workers. Although it was too early even to imagine what this book would
look like, I was enthusiastic about the eventuality of systematizing knowl-
edge and research experience acquired in the following years in a volume.
This sensation was probably imprinted in me through images and memo-
ries of my mother struggling to do research and writing for long hours,
and her feelings of happiness and deep satisfaction after the publication
of her work.
The idea of this book also responds to my colleagues’ call for a system-
atic study of the agency of migrant construction workers. By exploring
people’s perceptions and practices to cope with structural barriers within
and beyond the workplace, it investigates the capacity of migrant builders
to get by in Southern Europe amidst the Great Recession. It primarily
draws on qualitative data collected from 2015 to 2016 within the context
of my PhD dissertation, while it also uses data from another fieldwork
conducted in 2021–2022, aiming to delve into the effects of COVID-19
pandemic on migrant construction workers’ lives and the practices they
adopted to cope with the new period of crisis. This book does so by
v
vi Preface
comparatively analysing narratives of settled Albanian male migrants and

different stakeholders in Italy and Greece, where structural constraints
have been accentuated due to the Great Recession and the Eurozone cri-
sis. The main contribution of this book is the introduction of a new
framework for the analysis of the agency of migrant (construction) work-
ers employed in the so-called low-skilled sector of the labour market. It
also offers a typology that facilitates the exploration of migrant workers’
capacity to cope with crisis effects. Moreover, this study enables an update
of the Southern European Model of Immigration, whereas it offers some
reflections for policy makers and stakeholders.
Before moving to the introduction of this book, I wish to express my
deepest thanks to all research participants who dedicated so much of their
precious time. I am very grateful to Maurizio Ambrosini who supervised
my PhD thesis and led me through the field of migration studies, and
offered continuous support. I would like also to thank Diego Coletto and
Domenico Perrotta for their valuable advice and support since the begin-
ning of my academic path. I am also thankful to all those who have been
so kind to provide their feedback on this project and share their knowledge
and experience: my sincere thanks to Bridget Anderson, Paola Bonizzoni,
Mario Cardano, Francesco Della Puppa, Ivana Fellini, Giovanna Fullin,
Eda Gemi, Apostolos Kapsalis, Ioannis Kouzis, Arjen Leerkes, Thanos
Maroukis, Antonio Martín Artiles, Apostolos Papadopoulos, Iordanis
Psimmenos, Devi Sacchetto, Anna Triandafyllidou, Nicholas Van
Hear, and Francesca Alice Vianello.
Finally, I am extremely grateful to my family for the support and
encouragement throughout these years: to my mother Leta, my father
Kostas, and my brother Thanos.
I dedicate this book to Martina for her love and patience that give me
the strength to move forward and for having created a beautiful life
together.
Milan, Italy Iraklis Dimitriadis

Contents
1 I ntroduction 1
2 Contexts, Methods, and Analytical Framework 13
3 Migrant
Construction Workers’ Agency in Times of
Economic Recession 63
4 (Im)mobility
and Coping Practices Among Albanian
Construction Workers and Their Families Amidst the
Great Recession and Its Aftermath113
5 The
Effects of the Economic Downturn on Masculine
Identities and Their Relevance to Migrant Agency and
Family Relations171
6 C
onclusions213
7 Epilogue:
Migrant Construction Workers Admist
COVID-19 Pandemic – A New Crisis Period?235
vii
viii Contents
A
ppendices265
I ndex277
1
Introduction
This book explores the agency of migrant construction workers in a

period of economic crisis, and hence the notion of crisis requires a defini-
tional clarification from the outset, as well as the importance of studying
the effects of economic downturns on people’s lives.
The arrival of refugees in Europe in 2015–2016 triggered discussions
about crises, in the sense that it generated a new debate about what is
crisis and who are the subjects who define it and for whom (Cantat et al.,
2020). Sharing critical views on the concept of crisis, I perceive the Great
Recession as a historical event that produced unemployment, reduced
income, and precarious employment conditions, thus deepening already
existing inequalities. In the case of Italy and Greece, the analysis of
migrant construction workers’ (and their families) practices to cope with
economic hardships and poor employment conditions becomes even
more relevant, as the impacts of the global financial crisis of 2008 and
Eurozone crisis on the Greek and Italian construction sectors have been
noticeable for many years from the main event. In this respect, this book
can become a basis for comparison for future studies focusing on other
events of crisis (e.g., Brexit crisis, Covid-19 pandemic crisis) that repro-
duce and worsen existing conditions of disadvantage and poverty (Dines
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

I. Dimitriadis, Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18798-8_1
2 I. Dimitriadis
et al., 2018; Triandafyllidou, 2022). This is particularly relevant for

migrant construction workers who are among the first to suffer the effects
of economic downturns, as the construction industry is characterised by
high volatility in investments (Ive & Gruneberg, 2000).
Migrant construction workers’ experiences have so far been under-
studied compared to research on the so-called unskilled or low-skilled
migrants in low-paid and low-prestige economic sectors. Searching
Scopus and Web of Science1 for studies concerning migrant workers,
publications on those employed in the agriculture and domestic sectors
are by far more numerous in relation to those on construction workers.
More precisely, 918 publications on migrant workers in agriculture, 879
on domestic workers, and 331 on construction workers resulted from the
search on Scopus, whereas 2661 publications on migrant workers in agri-
culture, 1097 on domestic workers, and 226 on construction workers
resulted from the search on Web of Science. However, academic interest
on migrant construction workers increased since 2008, thus reflecting
the growing sociological relevance of the study of this migrant popula-
tion due to the Great Recession and the ensuing Eurozone crisis, and
their impact on Southern European economies.
Italy has had a poor economic performance since the 1990s due to its
public debt, low productivity rates, poor competitiveness, and political
instability, which have been aggravated by the Great Recession (Lafleur
& Stanek, 2017). In five out of the seven years from 2008 to 2014, the
Italian Gross Domestic Product growth decreased, and reached its mini-
mum value 5.5% in 2009. Greece was hit much harder by the economic
recession, facing a sovereign debt crisis and adopting three economic
adjustment programmes. Its economy registered negative growth rates
for seven consecutive years after 2008, while unemployment rates climbed
to the record level of 27.3% on September 2013. The crisis of 2008 has
worsened the labour market conditions and produced high rates of
unemployment from 2007 to 2012, although Italy experienced fewer job
losses compared to other Southern European countries (Fellini & Fullin,
2018; Panichella, 2018).
1
I conducted the search in the “abstract field” on February 16, 2022, using as keywords: “migrant”
and “agriculture”; “migrant” and “domestic work”; “migrant” and “construction sector”.
1 Introduction 3
The Italian and Greek construction sectors saw high job losses since
2007, following the general trend in the European construction industry
(Fromentin, 2016). From 2008 to 2015, the Italian construction indus-
try lost almost 502,000 jobs (ANCE, 2014), a very significant drop of
25.3%. In Lombardy, some 60,000 jobs were lost from 2008 to 2013.
From almost 350,000 in 2005, demand for residential housing building
permits has decreased to 200,000 in 2008, and to less than 50,000 in
2015. The Great Recession had devastating impacts on the Greek con-
struction sector too, causing a decrease of 85% in private building per-
mits and the volume of private building activities from 2007 to 2016.
The number of declared employees in construction decreased from
around 190,000 in 2007 to 125,000 in 2009, and to less than 30,000 in
2015 (www.efka.gov.gr). In other words, Greece saw job losses of 85%
within the sector.
Under these conditions, it is crucial to consider migrant construction
workers as a workforce that is exposed to higher risks of unemployment
and layoffs than natives (Papademetriou et al., 2009). This is because
migrant workers often possess skills that are not recognised in the host
country and may become victims of discrimination in the host society
(Hagan et al., 2015). In other words, migrants’ vulnerability can intensify
during an economic downturn when inequalities are amplified. Being
employed in residential construction that is characterised by flexibility,
subcontracting, precarious employment conditions, undeclared work,
and informal job contracts (see Chaps. 2 and 3), migrant builders poten-
tially experience high economic insecurity, cut of wages, and poor
employment conditions.
Although previous research on the ways in which migrants coped with
the effects of the Great Recession in Southern Europe (see Chap. 4)
offered valuable insights on individuals’ and families’ capacity to over-
come structural and contextual barriers to their integration and settle-
ment, the experiences of migrant male construction workers, that is those
who have affected more by the economic downturn, have not been stud-
ied adequately. While scholars focused on people’s spatial mobility and
immobility (onward, return, transnational, and internal migration and
survival practices while migrants stayed put), being particularly interested
in family, network, and gender dynamics, attention has not been paid to
4 I. Dimitriadis
the hallmarks of construction work and the intersections of labour agency,

subjectivities of migrant (construction) workers, the role of the family, as
well as masculinities in shaping migrants’ and their families’ agency in
times of recession.
This book examines the agency of migrant construction workers as
people who possess a set of technical skills along with interpersonal com-
petencies such as communication and interaction skills, leadership, team-
work, and innovative ways of approaching work (Hagan et al., 2015). On
the one hand, this is in contrast to the tendency in the public debate to
perceive migrant construction workers as “unskilled” by virtue of the
social status that is attributed to construction trades. On the other, this
approach challenges the simplification in migration research to consider
construction workers as “low-skilled” by virtue of low levels of education
and formal credentials. Next to technical, interpersonal, and mental
skills, the analysis of the empirical material reveals the importance of
intangible connotations of construction workers’ profession and special-
ization—such as the meaning attached to it by migrant builders them-
selves and its by-products (e.g., sense of belonging, identities), in shaping
their capacity to overcome hardships.
Despite attention to the individual, this book considers migrant con-
struction workers as members of a family (as defined by migrants them-
selves, see Kofman, 2004). A family perspective enables deeper
understandings of workers’ capacity to cope with structural constraints,
either within or outside the workplace. That said, accessing resources
through family members should not only be perceived as enabling
migrants’ agency; rather, it is suggested that tensions or conflicts within
the family, as well as considerations about the needs, plans, and desires of
other members, can shape migrants’ decision-making and practices.
Masculine identities and gendered understandings are equally impor-
tant to the study of migrants’ coping practices. Masculinities arise partly
from their cultural background and intersect with class, professional
traits, and migration experience. Emphasis is therefore put on how the
economic recession impacts men’s identities and how people perceive
their roles as caretakers, that is how male participants—as fathers and
husbands—represent their (in)ability to maintain the role of breadwin-
ners or periods of unemployment.
1 Introduction 5
Alluding to migrants’ coping practices during the Great recession and

its aftermath, this book is cautious in not lumping together all immigrant
or ethnic minority groups (Rogers et al., 2009). This means that the
recession effects and the way people cope with them may differ by migrant
group. Therefore, particular attention is also given to some cultural traits
of Albanians and patterns of Albanian migration that is considered a
unique case due to the high proportion of emigrants in relation to the
population in the home country, its importance for the Albanian national
economy and households, and its dynamic and rapidly evolving character
(King & Mai, 2008; Gemi & Triandafyllidou, 2021). Overall, I see my
research participants as migrants with their distinctive cultural traits,
construction workers, men, and family members.
Having accounted for the analytical dimensions that this book exam-
ines, the general research question is:
–– How do migrant construction workers cope with the effects of the
Great Recession in Southern Europe?
This general research question is followed by some sub-questions:
1. What are the practices that migrant workers adopt to escape unem-
ployment and degrading jobs in residential construction, and what are
the factors on which labour agency is dependent?
2. What are the spatial mobility and immobility practices that migrants
deploy to get by and improve their lives, and how do these coping
practices connect to migrant agency and social mobility?
3. How do migrant builders experience chronic job loss and underem-
ployment, and what is the impact of these situations on men’s per-
sonal identities? How do masculine identities interplay with coping
practices and migrant agency?
To answer the above research questions, this book adopts a micro-level

approach that delves into the ways in which migrant workers face unem-
ployment and poor employment conditions, how they make sense of
their experiences and trajectories, how they mobilise resources in adopt-
ing different coping practices, and what the outcome of these acts is
dependent upon. However, an agency-sensitive approach is associated
with factors at the macro- and meso-level of analysis. On the one side,
6 I. Dimitriadis
migration policies at the national and international levels, regulations in

the construction industry, welfare policies in the host country, and labour
market opportunities inform people’s decisions and actions. On the other
side, family and wider networks of relative and friends at different locali-
ties can shape migrants’ capacity to get by or get ahead.
Recognising the value of a cross-disciplinary dialogue in the study of
heterogeneous and complex processes in uncertain social settings, this
volume adopts a interdisciplinary approach in order to shed light on the
different dimensions of social existence that migration embraces. Indeed,
I engage sociology of migration and labour studies with different
approaches and theoretical tools used in other disciplines such as geogra-
phy, anthropology, political science, economics, and other social and
human sciences. However, this approach does not imply that all disci-
plines are put together in a bland mixture, but it enables a continuous
dialogue across disciplines (Castles, 2007).
This research engages in a comparative study of Italy and Greece (where
the great majority of Albanian emigrants reside), with a special focus on
Milan and Athens, thus contributing to a wider line of research on migra-
tion in Southern Europe, which has often adopted a comparative
approach in the investigation of Italy, Greece, Spain (and Portugal) as
immigration countries (Peixoto et al., 2012). Saying this, this book takes
into consideration similarities and differences between Greece and Italy
in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of
immigrant populations, migration policies, integration processes, and
labour markets. The focus on migrant builders entails juxtaposition of
employment and industrial relations in construction at the national level,
socio-economic characteristics, trends in the local economy, and the geo-
graphic position of Milan and Athens.
This book is largely based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews
with migrant construction-waged workers and some own-account work-
ers. A few employers who occasionally worked together with their
employees were also interviewed. Most of the interviewees resided in
Milan and Athens, and their satellite municipalities. Research partici-
pants are first-generation settled migrants, as they had moved to the des-
tination countries more than ten years previously. The book also draws
on face-to-face structured interviews with different stakeholders (e.g.,
1 Introduction 7
trade unionists, representative of cultural associations, labour inspectors)

and uses ethnographic fieldwork notes collected in different events and
occasions (e.g. events organized by immigrant cultural associations,
workers’ recruitment in street corners and squares). The fieldwork was
conducted from March 2015 to August 2016. To investigate COVID-19-
related effects on migrant construction workers and their practices to get
by (see Chap. 7), I conducted interviews with some of the Albanian
builders and stakeholders I had interviewed for my PhD dissertation
from September 2021 to May 2022.
Although I acknowledge that interviewing only men may be a limit of
the research, this is a deliberate choice that has been made by a number
of other scholars (see Chap. 4). The aim of this study is to explore the
representations of male construction workers of their own and their fami-
lies’ trajectories during the Great Recession, that is to investigate the ways
in which the experiences to cope with structural constraints have been
perceived and narrated by male migrants. Rather than making knowledge
claims about an objective reality, my goal is to understand and interpret
how Albanian males perceive and interpret reality. Saying this, grasping
male migrants’ points of view is only one of the different angles from
which I could investigate migrant agency and migration processes.
Drawing on women’s and/or children’s perspectives would probably pro-
vide different perspectives on the research questions, but also in that case,
it would be about analysing different representations and points of view
of what women and children experienced.
This book introduces a new framework for the study of migrants’
agency in unequal labour markets of those who have been traditionally
labelled as “unskilled” or “low-skilled” workers. Embracing analytical
tools of different strands of literature, this approach suggests the investi-
gation of the intersections of migrant workers’ handicraft, language, and
social skills, making part of a family and personal identities. This frame-
work also requires attention to the specific characteristics of distinct
labour markets. The study of these dimensions of analysis together with
the examination of meso- and macro-level factors can provide better
understandings of migration processes.
Delving into the coping practices of migrant builders, a typology of
migrant profiles (trapped, average, dynamic) is developed throughout this
8 I. Dimitriadis
book. These three types are based on people’s capacity to access and
mobilise resources to overcome structural and contextual barriers, and
frame the practices that migrants are able or opt to undertake. This clas-
sification schematises combinations of resources that migrant workers
deploy to get by and get ahead, thus adding to the disaggregated concep-
tualisation of agency developed by Katz (2004) that is used for the analy-
sis of migrants’ practices.
The findings of this book also inform studies on integration and migra-
tion patterns in Southern Europe. First, the book identifies a connection
between new emigration of Greeks and Italians within the EU with
onward migration among settled migrants. Second, it highlights the cre-
ation of new transnational spaces that can lead to onward migration or
contribute to families’ economic well-being. Third, it highlights the
changes in Albanian migration patterns, claiming that the economic
downturn triggered some transformations within the Albanian family.
Fourth, it adds to the studies that adopt a comparative approach in deal-
ing with immigration in Southern Europe, by highlighting the impor-
tance of some analytical dimensions to be considered in future research.
In light of these, this book makes some recommendations to policy mak-
ers and stakeholders in the construction sector aimed to facilitate migrant
workers’ integration processes.
Applying the framework and the typology proposed in this book in the
analysis of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on migrant
construction workers and their families, this book confirms the validity
of these contributions and makes some reflections on the evolution of
immigration patterns in Southern Europe and the link between the cur-
rent and previous economic crisis in Italy and Greece.
This book is structured as follows. Chapter 2 presents the specificities
of each context in which Albanian migrant construction workers are
embedded, and outlines the theoretical frameworks and conceptual tools
that cut across this volume. First, it offers a brief historical account of
Albanian emigration and some aspects characterising contemporary
migration patterns and processes. Second, it introduces the traits of Italy
and Greece as destination countries and the key features of migration
policies concerning regularisation and integration of immigrants. Third,
it provides an account of the characteristics of residential construction
1 Introduction 9
and its relevance to migrant labour. Particular emphasis is put on the

organisation and characteristics of the construction sectors in Italy and
Greece. Fourth, it discusses the research design and the approaches
adopted to collect and analyse data. Fifth, it gives information related to
some demographic characteristics of the migrant population in the two
localities in which the empirical material was collected, patterns of
migrants’ settlement, and labour market structure. Sixth, it elaborates a
discussion on theories and concepts that are used throughout this vol-
ume. These are complementary to theoretical debates and conceptual
tools that each analytical chapter (Chaps. 3, 4, and 5) draws on.
Chapter 3 focuses on the debate of labour agency in construction. It
starts by reconstructing different strands of literature dealing with work-
ers in the construction sector, highlighting limitations and knowledge
gaps in previous studies. Then, it explores different practices that migrant
construction workers employ to avoid unemployment and poor employ-
ment conditions, putting emphasis on the factors determining workers’
agency. It also discusses some collective coping practices and their rele-
vance to labour agency. Special attention is given to the relations between
employers and employees, as well as to the role of family members’ acts
and needs in migrant agency.
Chapter 4 shifts attention to spatial mobility and immobility practices
of male migrant workers and their families during and after the Great
Recession. Entering the theoretical debate of mobility and immobility
and its connection to social mobility, this chapter sheds light on migrants’
geographical mobility or considerations about it on the one hand, and
the meanings associated to staying put in the host society on the other.
Since this study concentrates on the people who reside in the destination
country, a series of practices while people stay put in Italy and Greece are
also analysed.
Chapter 5 complements the discussion about migrants’ agency by
highlighting the impact of the crisis on men’s identities and understand-
ings, that in turn affect people’s practices to cope with unemployment. It
connects to theories on the effects of job loss on people’s identities, the
impact of crisis on people’s and their family lives, as well as gender and
migration. The first section looks at how construction workers experience
the Great Recession, the impact of unemployment on their personal
10 I. Dimitriadis
identities, and the ways migrants account for job loss. The second section
examines how the crisis affected gendered norms (and family life) and the
gendered strategies pursued by men in relation to other coping practices
they undertook to cope with the crisis.
Drawing on the results of the three previous analytical chapters, Chap.
6 concludes by suggesting a framework for the study of agency and cop-
ing practices among migrant (construction) workers and discusses the
typology of migrant profiles developed in this book in relation to the
desegregated conceptualisation of agency Katz (2004) that was used for
the analysis of the empirical material. It also elaborates comparative
reflections at the national and local levels, thus adding to the study of
integration processes in Southern European countries. Finally, it makes
some recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders in the con-
struction sector.
Chapter 7 explores the impacts of the ongoing pandemic on builders’
working lives, making a dialogue with the findings of previous chapters
and reflecting on the connection between the pandemic and the Great
recession.
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1 Introduction 11
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2
Contexts, Methods, and Analytical
Framework
This chapter presents some characteristics of the contexts where fieldwork

was conducted. First, it offers a brief historical account of Albanian emi-
gration, pointing out contemporary migration patterns, processes, and
trends. Second, it provides a snapshot of immigration policies and inte-
gration processes in Italy and Greece, as well as some information on
their immigrant populations. Third, it discusses the presence of migrant
labour across the European construction sector, and introduces the main
characteristics of and trends in the Greek and Italian residential construc-
tion. This chapter also gives information about the research design and
methods employed to collect and analyse data. It explains the reasons for
which qualitative methods and techniques were used, and it discusses the
sampling process, the characteristics of the research participants, and the
use of non-participant observation. It also reflects on the positionality of
the researcher, difficulties in recruiting participants, and ethics. Some
demographic and socio-economic aspects of Milan and Athens are pre-
sented in order to justify the selection of these two localities. Finally, this
chapter outlines the main theoretical approaches and concepts employed
for the analysis of the empirical data. Classic theories to interpret
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 13

I. Dimitriadis, Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18798-8_2
14 I. Dimitriadis
migration processes at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels are provided,

together with some conceptual tools that contribute to better under-
standings of the resources that enable or constrain migrants’ agency.
Albanian Emigration
Albanians were engaged in migratory movements during the Ottoman-
empire era (Vullnetari, 2012), when they used to travel to neighbour
regions or long overseas destinations (USA, Argentina, Australia) in order
to provide for their families that stayed back home. Since the nineteenth
century, young males have moved for a long time to find employment in
agriculture, livestock, and construction, or for shorter periods working as
craftsmen and merchants. Leaving home and being distant in a foreign
land is known in the Albanian history and collective memory as kurbet
(travel-for-work) (Papailias, 2003), and it is connected to notions of loss
(separation, dislocation, exploitation) and family sacrifice (Mai &
Schwandner-Sievers, 2003).
The Hoxha regime suspended Albanian emigration between the 1950s
and 1980s, promoting a powerful propaganda that highlighted the nega-
tive connotation of separation and suffering linked to the notion of kur-
bet (Vullnetari, 2012). This was an expression of citizens’ liberty
deprivation in politically isolated Albania, as migration was prohibited
and emigrants and their families were punished (King & Mai, 2008). The
majority of the Albanian population (almost two-thirds) lived in rural
areas and worked in agriculture that was the most important economic
sector together with industry, producing over 80% of the overall national
production output in 1990 (King, 2005). Albania was characterised by
general poverty that persisted after Hoxha’s death, despite the economic
reforms introduced by his successor Ramiz Alia who remained in power
until 1992.
Albanian people’s indigence and desire to savour the images of wealth
and prosperity of Western countries arrived through illegally watching of
Italian TV stations (King & Mai, 2008) triggered a new emigration era.
Migration of Albanians re-emerged in a very particular way, as thousands
of people exited the country over a short time span, generating what Van
Hear (1998: 119) called “a new migration order” or “a laboratory for the
study of migration and development” (King, 2005: 133). The estimation
about the number of Albanians who left the country in order to escape
unemployment, extreme poverty, and lack of opportunities until 2001
was around one million.
Albanians’ exodus happened in three different periods (Vullnetari,
2012). The first period commenced in 1990 and ended in 1993, follow-
ing the collapse of the regime. In July 1990, around 5000 Albanians
arrived in Germany, Italy, and France and were granted refugee status. In
the next months, thousands of people fled to Greece by walking over the
mountains, whereas almost 45,000 Albanians landed on the Italian terri-
tory by boat in 1991. The second significant moment that triggered emi-
gration from Albania was in 1997, after the collapse of the “pyramid”
investment schemes. A big share of migrants’ remittances had been
invested in private “saving” schemes, as a response to the lack of liquidity.
In early 1997, these financial products failed as the interest rates were not
sustainable anymore, causing unrest in the country. Once again, Albanians
fled to Greece and Italy to escape the chaotic situation characterising the
Albanian economy. The Kosovo war from 1998 to 1999 was the third
episode pushing Albanians to leave their home country and flee to
European destinations applying for asylum. The fact that Albanians
escaping Kosovo temporarily entered Albania enabled other Albanian
people to mix themselves in with Kosovar asylum seekers and obtain ref-
ugee status in Europe. This is because poverty and unemployment per-
sisted due to the political instability that discouraged foreign investments
in Albania.
In considering these three different periods of migratory movements
since the 1990s, Barjaba and King (2005) were the first to suggest a
model of Albanian emigration. First, the migration of Albanians has been
much more intense in relation to rates of emigration from other Balkan
countries. According to World Bank’s (2011) evaluations in 2010, almost
45% of the total Albanian population have been involved in migration.
Second, Albanian migration has been characterised by irregularityof legal
status, especially in Greece. Albanians found themselves without a legal
status due to informality in local labour markets and sectors (e.g., agricul-
ture and construction) in which they were employed and complexity and
16 I. Dimitriadis
rigidity in legal and administrative procedures (Fakiolas, 2003; Reyneri,

1998). Third, the motivations for migration were usually linked to eco-
nomic reasons, despite citizens’ contempt for the authoritarian culture of
control by authorities (King, 2005). Young people’s will for self-expression
and quest for self-realisation, the need to escape insecure environments
(especially in northern Albania) due to blood feuds (King & Mai, 2008)
were drivers for migration too. Fourth, the geographic proximity between
Albania and Greece (and Italy) favoured circularity in labour migration.
Albanians developed a “back and forth” migration pattern finding
employment in seasonal jobs such as agriculture, but also construction
(Maroukis et al., 2011). Fifth, Albanian migration initially had a gen-
dered dimension, as migrant men migrated first and then women fol-
lowed (Vullnetari, 2012). This can be seen as part of the return to
traditional gendered roles after the collapse of the communist regime. A
more balanced account emerged in relation to the numbers of male and
female migrants in the late 2010s (Vullnetari, 2012), as arrivals of
Albanians to Italy and Greece in the 2000s include women (wives) and
offspring, as well as children born to Albanian migrant families (Gëdeshi
& King, 2021).
More recent research on Albanian emigration in the 2010s accounts for
changes in migration patterns. Although the biggest part of the Albanian
diaspora continues to reside in Italy (433,171) (dati.istat.it) and Greece
(422,954) (Gemi, 2021), Germany and Switzerland also host a large num-
ber of Albanian migrants (300,000 and 100,000 respectively) and may be
now considered “traditional” destinations together with the United
Kingdom, France, and Belgium. Not only does this include emigration
from Albania but also onward migration from Italy and Greece through
the acquisition of EU citizenship (Italian or Greek) (Danaj & Çaro, 2016;
Dimitriadis, 2021); and to a lower extent, through the long-term EU stay
permit that allows non-EU residents to access regular employment in EU
countries.1 Moreover, Albanians’ mobility to European countries has
increased since 2011, as they have been given the right to travel and reside
1
While Albanian emigration to Greece and Italy largely concerns labour migration, ethnic migra-
tion (as a return to the “ancient motherland” of Albanians of Greek and Italian descent) and traf-
ficking of human beings are two other types of migration (Gemi & Triandafyllidou, 2021).
up to three months in Schengen countries. This enables them to explore

new labour markets and access (informal) jobs (Dimitriadis, 2021).
Another new element also concerns those who applied for asylum in EU
countries in recent years. Almost 66,000 Albanians sought asylum mainly
in Germany and other countries, trying to take advantage of new migra-
tion routes through the Western Balkans in 2015 (Gëdeshi & King, 2021;
Gemi & Triandafyllidou, 2021). The motivations of these people are
linked to poor economic conditions in Albania and other factors including
health, education, family, accommodation, social protection, security, and
the pessimistic perception of their own and their children’s future in the
home country (Gëdeshi & King, 2021).
The last point concerns the spatial mobility of Albanian migrants liv-
ing in Italy and Greece in the 2010s. Although many of them opted to
return to Albania as a way to face the effects of the Eurozone financial
crisis of the 2010s on the Italian and Greek labour markets, this practice
often has temporary and circular characteristics. The decision to leave
Italy and Greece may be temporary and the period people remain back
home can be necessary for people in order to reconsider and prepare their
future migratory plans. These may include remigration to Italy and
Greece or onward migration to another EU destination (Gemi &
Triandafyllidou, 2021).
To better understand the contexts and conditions in which such pat-
terns take place, the following section outlines the profile of Italy and
Greece as immigration countries.
Brief Overview on Immigration

A
and Integration in Italy and Greece
Forming part of the so-called Southern-European Model of Immigration
(Peixoto et al., 2012; Fellini, 2018), Italy and Greece—together with
Spain and Portugal, share many common characteristics in relation to
their immigration experience. Both countries suddenly transformed into
host countries in the late 1980s and 1990s, having no previous experi-
ence in migration policies. In addition, the arrival of migrants was char-
acterised by irregularity that refers both to entrance/residence and
18 I. Dimitriadis
insertion into the labour market. In general, recruitment schemes in both

countries have been traditionally considered inefficient (Finotelli &
Ponzo, 2018) and labour demands in construction, agriculture, and care
have been initially filled by workers without regular legal status.
Italy and Greece responded to the need to tackle irregular immigration
by mainly promoting several regularisation schemes. The first modern
Italian immigration law in 1986 (943/1986) introduced the first regulari-
sation programme, issuing documents for 118,349 migrants. From then
onwards, Italy promoted other eight regularisation programmes in 1990,
1995, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009 (only for domestic workers), 2012, and
2020 (for migrants working mainly in agriculture and domestic sectors)
(Bonizzoni & Hajer, 2022). Entry quotas are also established for seasonal
workers. Greek governments introduced the first regularisation pro-
gramme in 1997 and two others in 2001 and 2005. Annual quotas are
also implemented in the Greek case to respond to labour market’s needs
of seasonal workers through an invitation mechanism (metaklisi).
Extraordinary measures have been also adopted to address migrants’
inability to fulfil requirements to renew their stay permits during the
crisis. The law 3907/2011 introduced a stay permit for “exceptional rea-
sons” for those who have developed “special and strong ties” with Greece
(Triandafyllidou, 2015).2
National legislators established a rigid link between work and regular
status in both countries. This tight connection between employment and
immigration affects both those who regularise for the first time, and
migrant workers who hold a temporary stay permit and need to renew it.
Dependency of legal residence on formal employment contracts means
that migrants’ risk to lapse into irregularity when they remain unem-
ployed or are engaged in informal employment arrangements that flour-
ish in the Italian and Greek labour markets (Ambrosini, 2018; Dimitriadis,
2022; Quassoli, 1999; Reyneri, 1998).
Labour markets in Italy and Greece are characterised by dual structures
(Piore, 1979): native workers tend to occupy more permanent jobs and
2
Triandafyllidou (2015: 21) refers that this concerned migrants who “have lived in Greece for at
least three years before the submission of their application, and who have a valid entry visa to the
country, or can prove to have lived in the country for at least the past seven years, or to have held a
stay permit in the past ten years, or to prove that have long lasting ties with the country”.
enjoy greater benefits, whereas the migrant workforce takes jobs in the
secondary sector characterised by work insecurity, low-paid and precari-
ous employment, and 3D (dirty, demanding, dangerous) jobs. In consid-
ering rigidity in national policies and labour market structure and needs,
that is the demand for a cheap and unprotected workforce (Ambrosini,
2018), many migrant workers are engaged in the informal economy,
despite the implications this has on national economies and their lives
(Dimitriadis, 2022). Informal employment concerns construction, agri-
culture, cleaning and catering, and domestic and care services.3
Despite the above similarities, Italy and Greece significantly differ in
relation to migrants’ country of origin (Baldwin-Edwards, 2012). The
most numerous third-country migrant groups in Italy are: Albanians
(467,687 in 2016; 433,171 in 2021), Moroccans (437,485 in 2016;
428,947 in 2021) and Chinese (271,330 in 2016; 330,495 in 2021)
(http://dati.istat.it/). Contrarily, Albanians form more than 60% of the
immigrant population in Greece (480,851 in 2011; 422,954 in 2021),
followed by Georgians (27,400 in 2016; 29,259 in 2021) and Chinese
(26,596 in 2021) (Gemi, 2021). Moreover, insertion into the Greek
labour market has had different characteristics, for instance, the rates of
ethnic entrepreneurs and migrant self-employment are very low in com-
parison to those in Italy (Baldwin-Edwards, 2012). In the Italian case
too, regional and local authorities have traditionally had an active role in
the implementation of integration policies for immigrants, including
welfare services to migrants with legal status and their families (e.g.,
housing, welfare allowances). Civil society organisations in Italy (espe-
cially the Catholic Church) have supported migrants by collaborating or
being in conflict with public authorities (Campomori & Ambrosini,
2020; Dimitriadis et al., 2021; Dimitriadis & Ambrosini, 2022). In con-
trast, the institutional system governing migration in Greece is highly
centralised. Notwithstanding recent reforms, municipal authorities still
have a limited role in the implementation of integration programmes for
3
High numbers of migrant workers in the domestic sector is also related to weak welfare regimes of
Southern European countries (Peixoto et al., 2012). Little direct assistance provided by the state
and the growing participation of adult women in labour markets drive native families to employ
(undeclared) migrant workforce for the care of the young and the elderly (Lyberaki, 2008; Da Roit
et al., 2013), which has been called the “invisible welfare” (Ambrosini, 2013).
20 I. Dimitriadis
migrants. A growing number of civil society organisations have been

active in the provision of services to migrants since the 1990s, whereas
the Greek Church has had a controversial role towards migration
(Dimitriadis & Molteni, 2023; Fouskas, 2019). Greece has been also
considered to poorly perform in terms of integration outcomes until
2012 (e.g., legislation for voting rights and citizenship acquisition)
(Baldwin-Edwards, 2012).
This book considers integration as “a two-way process of accommoda-
tion by all migrants and residents of member-states”. This definition pro-
posed by the Council of the EU emphasises that integration is a process
that involves the whole society. Immigrant integration includes the eco-
nomic, social, and cultural spheres or, alternatively, encompasses different
dimensions. Ager and Strang (2008: 166) state that the key domains of
integration relate to “achievement and access across the sectors of employ-
ment; housing, education and health; assumptions and practice regard-
ing citizenship and rights; processes of social connection within and
between groups within the community; and structural barriers to such
connection related to language, culture and the local environment”.
As far as integration patterns of migrants in Italy and Greece concerns,
Mai and Schwandner-Sievers (2003) used the term different inclusion to
show that (Albanian) migrants are integrated in some domains of the
society such as the labour market, whereas they are often denied access to
citizenship and political participation. In the Italian case, Ambrosini
(2013) suggested the concept of “subordinate integration” to point out
that immigrants are well accepted in the society as long as they hold jobs
in the secondary segment of the labour market. In the Greek case, schol-
ars talked about “partial integration” and “differential exclusion” (Gemi
& Triandafyllidou, 2021), intending that despite access to the labour
market, migrants remain often excluded from citizenship processes.
To cope with uncertainty and exclusion in the host countries, Albanians
have opted for assimilation through “mimesis” (Kokkali, 2011). This
means that they sought to blur into the Italian and Greek fabric making
themselves “invisible” by changing their names, baptising their children,
or converting at least nominally to majority population’s doctrine (Gemi
& Triandafyllidou, 2021; Dimitriadis & Molteni, 2023). These were also
ways to cope with stigmatization and lessen prejudice towards
themselves, which were particularly high in the first years of migration

(Hatziprokopiou, 2003; King & Mai, 2008). Proficiency in the local lan-
guage also contributed to rapid process of integration. Moreover, family
reunification through legal channels facilitated settlement and integra-
tion (Zanfrini, 2021), as the arrival of the spouse and children upon main
(male) breadwinner’s invitation has been seen as a “good” migration
(Ambrosini et al., 2014a); family migration has been long seen as having
few repercussions on the labour market (Kofman, 2004).
Since labour market inclusion was the key for integration in Southern
Europe, economic crisis challenges integration pathways (Finotelli &
Ponzo, 2018). Jobs in the secondary labour market in Italy became less
rewarding, and this mainly affected migrant men. Working conditions
also deteriorated and employment became more precarious in the so-
called low-quality and low-paid jobs. This was not the case for foreign
women workers due to high absorption into the domestic and care sec-
tors and, in some cases, their capacity to rely on migrant solidarity net-
works (Marchetti, 2017). However, different dynamics are observed in
Greece where upward mobility in females’ careers into the domestic and
care sector until the crisis was reversed (Bellas, 2012; Galata et al., 2020;
Maroukis, 2018). Domestic workers have to accept downward occupa-
tional mobility (from live-out to live-in) or female bank nurses in hospi-
tals returned to unstable and insecure work conditions for example. All in
all, a socio-economic “disintegration” process (Gemi, 2014) emerged due
to the Great Recession and it highly concerned (the families of ) those
employed in the construction sector. This is not only due to high unem-
ployment rates in residential construction but also due to the industry’s
hallmarks, as the following section highlights.
Residential Construction and Migrant Labour

Migrant labour in residential construction comprises building construc-
tion, maintenance works, repair, renovation, and demolition of struc-
tures such as apartments, dormitories, hotels, and single-unit homes (Ive
& Gruneberg, 2000; Rabourn, 2008). All these activities are subject to
volatility of housing markets, which generates high labour turnover
22 I. Dimitriadis
within firms and construction firms themselves. The majority of firms in

residential construction are small, whereas the number of self-employed
workers is high; tradespeople often work as sole proprietorships. The
owner (of the land or housing) or the developer hires the general contrac-
tor or construction management firm. Although the general contractor
firm may employ workers in different trades who are assigned to do some
work, most actual construction work is subcontracted to other firms that
can do the works through their personnel or can further contract out
activities to other subcontractors (Rabourn, 2008).
Labour subcontracting practices are considered to be one of the factors
feeding undeclared labour in the construction sector. This is because it is
difficult for authorities to control the payment of wages and social insur-
ance contribution obligations of subcontractors. In addition, informal
working relations between employers and workers create the conditions
for the existence of undeclared employment. Thiel (2012: 114) argues
that it is rare that subcontractors and builders sign formal employment
contracts, as they rely on “each other’s morality to loyally honour verbal
agreements” that exceed written ones. This often makes impossible for
workers to challenge an agreement at a court, if the oral contract between
them and employers is not respected (Moore, 2014). Another factor
favouring informal labour practices is reliance on migrant labour without
legal status, which does not allow any kind of formal job contract
(Dimitriadis, 2022). The same is true when buildings are constructed
without planning permission. Overall, informality and irregularity in
one’s legal status can produce vulnerability and exploitation for migrant
construction workforces (Buckley et al., 2016).
Migrant labour has always been one of the hallmarks of the European
construction sector (Krings et al., 2011). Contractors, subcontractors,
and owner/developers often employ migrant labour to reduce costs of
construction works (Buckley et al., 2016). As the production cannot be
mobile to save costs (worksite cannot be “offshored”), migrant workers
are those who are largely employed in labour-intensive and low-status
jobs in construction, the so-called 3D (dirty, demanding, dangerous)
jobs, that are often denied by native workers. The latter can access jobs at
the primary segment of the labour market that offers providing high sala-
ries, career opportunities, substantial benefits and reasonable levels of job
security (Piore, 1979; Friberg, 2012). Moreover, access to construction is

considered relatively easy in relation to other sectors, as knowledge of the
local language and certification of skills are rarely required (Krings
et al., 2011).
Despite these common hallmarks, construction industry can signifi-
cantly vary across the world. First, the levels of subcontracting that enable
the division of labour in a fragmented production process (Fellini et al.,
2007) can differ from country to country, as well as the size of firms
(Buckley et al., 2016; Dimitriadis, 2022). Structural differences are also
related to the level of informality of the firm as, for instance, undeclared
employment can concern non-payment of overtime or unregistered
firms. Second, firms may offer different kinds of labour contracts ranging
from full-time and part-time ones, to project-based or daily contracts; or,
no contracts. Third, workforce recruitment can take place through differ-
ent channels, namely labour agencies, state programmes, or informal
intermediaries. Fourth, construction industries can be characterised by
the presence of high-skilled and/or low-skilled migrant professionals and
workers. In the two following subsections, I account for the characteris-
tics of the Italian and Greek construction sectors.
The Italian Construction Sector
The construction sector in Italy enjoyed a rapid phase of growth from

1995 to 2007. These years of expansion have been labelled as “golden
period”, and were considered comparable only to those after World War
II. Production in residential construction raised together with the public
works until 2007, and the number of employees in the construction sec-
tor increased by 371,000 from 1999 to 2005 (Zucchetti, 2008).
The construction boom in Italy was based on strategies to reduce the
cost of production through fragmentation of firms and labour processes
since the 1980s. By outsourcing parts of construction work to small spe-
cialised firms, contractors aim to reduce the cost of production and
investment risks. The percentage of individual firms in 2008 was 71.4%
of all companies, which is telling in this evolution. At the same time, the
number of medium sized firms has decreased (Perrotta, 2011). After the
24 I. Dimitriadis
crisis of 2007–2008, some changes have been observed as regards the

structure of companies. In 2015, 61% of construction companies were
individual firms. This may be the result of failure of self-employed work-
ers who were not able to sustain the costs of their own firms, thus becom-
ing unemployed or dependent workers. 35.3% of companies had from
two to nine employees, and only 3.5% of construction companies
employed from 10 to 49 workers, whereas 1120 out of 511,405 compa-
nies (0.2%) employed over 50 workers (ANCE, 2017). These percentages
continue to be almost invariable in 2019 (ANCE, 2022).
The recruitment of workers is predominantly based on informal net-
works, that is through the “word-of-mouth” (Fellini et al., 2007). This is
typical in the construction sector (Thiel, 2012), as informal social ties
enable workers to obtain good jobs and employers to employ skilful,
trustful, and controllable workforce (Khurana, 2017). However, informal
recruitment mechanisms may be also connected to vulnerability and
exploitation of the (migrant) workforce, when gang masters intermediate
between employers and workers for example. Contrary, formal labour
market intermediaries such as private labour agencies or public employ-
ment centres seem to have a limited role in the recruitment process in
Italy, whereas reliance on posted workers in the Italian construction sec-
tor is marginal (Iannuzzi & Sacchetto, 2020); although this phenomenon
is in rise across Europe (Arnholtz & Lillie, 2020; Cillo, 2021). Waged
employment includes full-time contracts and other precarious contrac-
tual forms (i.e., part-time or project-based contracts). Moreover, no form
of skills certification is required to access trades, nor proof of economic
(capital) resources to start up an individual firm.
The insertion of migrant labour into the Italian construction sector
happened long before the arrival of third-country national migrants, as
labour demand in industrial cities of the North has been addressed
through internal migrants arriving from the eastern Italian regions and
Southern Italy (Paci, 1973). The first numerous migrant groups that
accessed the construction sector were Moroccans and Albanians, followed
by Romanians and Egyptians. The Italian construction was particularly
attractive for migrant workers due to the facility of access through
informal channels (Reyneri, 1998). In 2016, the main migrant groups

employed in the construction sector of Milan are Romanians (24% out
of migrant labour force), Albanians (22%), Egyptians (21%), and
Moroccans (8.5%) (ww2.cassaedilemilano.it).
Italy has strong and encompassing labour unions that offer special ser-
vices and structures to migrants (Danaj et al., 2018). FILLEA-CGIL
(Italian Federation of Wood and Construction - General Confederation
of Italian Workers), FILCA-CISL (Italian Federation of Construction
Workers - Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions) and FENEAL-UIL
(National Federation of Construction and Wood Workers - Italian Union
of Workers) are the most important unions in the construction sector
that represent labourers’ rights and sign the National Collective Labour
Agreement (Contratto Collettivo Nazionale) that constitutes the funda-
mental agreement within the building industry regulating wage levels
and relationships among social partners, thus being able to affect labour
market conditions. CUB (Confederazione Unitaria di Base) and USB
(Unione Sindacale di Base) are two grass-root unions that represent
numerous workers in Milan and across Italy.
Construction unions together with employer associations have estab-
lished the Cassa Edile, which is a third-part bilateral institution estab-
lished in 1919 to provide mutual support in the event of adverse economic
and weather conditions (Frangi et al., 2021). Today, this institution offers
a range of welfare services (e.g., support for medical expenses or home
mortgages, vacation, and seniority payments) and sector training. This is
promoted and managed by the Institution for vocational education and
training that directs building schools (FORMEDIL - Ente per la
Formazione e l’addestramento professionale nell’edilizia - Scuole Edili). The
National Committee for the accident prevention and hygiene in the
workplace (CNCPT – Commissione nazionale per la prevenzione infor-
tuni, l’igiene e l’ambiente di lavoro) is another important institution within
the Italian construction sector. Overall, unions have instituted special
structures that offer a wide range of services to migrants (Danaj
et al., 2018).
26 I. Dimitriadis
The Greek Construction Sector
The residential construction sector has been one of the pillars of the eco-
nomic growth in Greece since the1950s (Labropoulou, 2009). This
increasing contribution to Greece’s national product lies in a booming
urbanization process resulting in the concentration of 40% of Greek
population in the Greater Athens metropolitan area (Mingione, 1990).
Similar to the Italian case, the Greek construction sector has also experi-
enced strong economic growth during the 1980s and 1990s, which coin-
cided with the enrichment of the middle class (Maroukis, 2013). A
second period in which the construction activity has grown significantly
was in the 2000s during the pro-Olympic Games period of 2004.
Karousos and Vlamis (2008) reported that from 2001 to 2007, the con-
tribution of construction to the GDP ranged between 6% and 8%, and
construction employed more than 7% of labour force in Greece. From
2004 to 2005 onwards, there have been the first signs of an economic
recession.
During periods of economic growth, construction companies achieved
to accumulate big profits, while the number of firms were increased con-
stantly (Karousos & Vlamis, 2008). This mainly reflects the general trend
in the European construction sector of segmented labour process in con-
struction, as 97.3% of construction companies employed up to 9 workers
in 2012 (IOVE, 2015). Fragmentation of the firm became even higher
until 2016, as 98.1% of construction firms employ up to 9 people, only
1.7% from 20 to 49, whereas the number of those employing more than
50 people is residual (IOVE, 2019).
Concerning recruiting methods in Greek construction that differ in
relation to other Western European countries (Appendix A), Labropoulou
(2009) and Staveris (2003) have shown the importance of informal net-
works in matching labour supply and demand. Recommendations com-
ing from (ex) employers and colleagues have been the most common way
for Greek construction workers to access building sites in Athens and
other Greek cities. Meeting points such as squares or street corners have
been places of informal recruitment on a daily basis. These places are
called “piatses” where employers (or clients) and labourers used to
bargain about the payment and working hours. However, such kind of
intermediation is not common anymore, mainly due to the evolution of
ways of communication (Dimitriadis, 2017). Private or public labour
intermediaries have no role in the intermediation of workforce. Similar
to Italy, no certification is required to access construction trades.
The transformation of Athens and other big Greek cities in urban
peripheries after the 1950s was realised through the labour of internal
migrants who moved from the countryside to escape poverty. Migrant
people arriving from Egypt and Poland were the first foreigners who
entered the Greek construction sector in the 1980s, whereas the mass
arrival of Albanians in the 1990s was the start of the great presence of
migrant labour in the industry. Psimmenos (2003) talked about the
“albanisation” of the Greek construction, whereas Maroukis (2013)
argued that Albanians worked as dependent workers for Greek employ-
ers, which enabled migrants to build relations with native people. In
2014,4 Albanians represented 84.88% of declared migrant workers;
6.46% were Romanians, 2.11% were Russians, 1.38% were Pakistanis,
and 1.32% were Egyptians (www.efka.gov.gr). Access to building trades
was initially informal, and most migrants were regularised after years of
undeclared employment, thus being quite exploitable at the first years of
their migration experience.
Representation of construction workers in the Greek case has different
characteristics in relation to the Italian construction sector where unions
are confederated. In Greece, workers employed in the private sector are
represented by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE).
Primary corporate unions are found at the base of GSEE, represented
workers in productive sectors or professional ones. As regards the con-
struction sector, local professional units represent builders according
their place of residence. In Athens, the more powerful local professional
unit is the Builders’ Trade Union of Athens. All locally oriented primary
Unions are represented by The Greek Federation of Builders and Related
Professions that participates in GSEE’s procedures. It also bargains about
builders’ wages and employment conditions with the Association of
Technical Companies of Higher Classes and the Association of Greek
4
Month of reference June.
28 I. Dimitriadis
Contracting Companies and Limited Liability Companies. However,

after the first Memorandum between the Greek government and its cred-
itors (IMF, ECB, and EC), the Greek legislator suggested that collective
agreements might take place only on a voluntary basis, which substan-
tially implied their suspension; employment terms are therefore the result
of agreements between employers and employees on an individual basis
(Koukiadaki & Kokkinou, 2016).
It is important to underscore that the Builders’ Trade Union of Athens
and the Greek Federation of Builders and Related Professions are affili-
ated to PAME, which is a fraction of GSEE. PAME was founded in 1999
and constitutes a KKE-friendly (Greek Communist Party) union coali-
tion, representing workers in every productive sector. It entails all “work-
ing class-oriented” unions (those allied to KKE), creating a split inside
the GSEE. Thus, building sector trade unionists in Athens usually follow
KKE’s political line, and argue in accordance to Marxist ideas on labour
and capital. Not effective union programmes have been promoted for the
inclusion of Albanian migrants in Greece (Danaj et al., 2018).
Having accounted for the characteristics of the residential construc-
tion and migrant labour in Greece and Italy, the following section delves
into the research design and methods adopted to answer to the research
questions presented in Chap. 1.
Research Design and Methods

Methodology is considered the epistemological basis for investigating
social questions and producing knowledge about social actions (Castles,
2007). The research in this book adopted a qualitative approach in order
to answer the research questions presented in Chap. 1. The aim of this
study was to explore individual perspectives, representations of, and
meanings attributed to specific actions that were undertook by Albanian
male migrants and their families to respond to structural constraints in
times of economic recession.
Opting for a qualitative approach was also driven by difficulties to
reach research subjects due to both structural and individual characteris-
tics. First, in-depth interviews and ethnography enable approaching
“hard-to-reach” populations as that of migrants who are involved in

undeclared and irregular employment. Irregularity concerns both migrant
workers’ legal status (people without legal migrant status) and contrac-
tual terms or declaration of economic activities to authorities. Therefore,
a qualitative approach was the most appropriate way to study a sensitive
issue and delve into the motivations and rationales of people involved in
illicit activities (Coletto, 2010); given also the absence of any kind of pre-
existing lists (Doreian & Woodard, 1992). Second, qualitative research
permitted me to cope with problems coming from construction workers’
physical mobility that concerns both everyday mobility to reach (often
different) worksites and transnational mobility for work.
Following previous research on the (migrant) workforce in the con-
struction sector across the world (e.g., in France, Jounin, 2008; in the
UK, Thiel, 2012; in Italy, Perrotta, 2011; Morrison et al., 2013; in the
Netherlands, Berntsen, 2016; in India Khurana, 2017; in China, Swider,
2015), the principal tool of this inquiry is in-depth interviews combined
with instances of non-participant observation and consultation of legal
documents and newspapers. Conducting face-to-face interviews with
workers (Appendix B) and different stakeholders was very crucial to gain
deep insights and understandings of complex phenomena and processes
(Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). Being interested in grasping research subjects’
representations and interpretation of their work and life experience, as
well as their attitudes and beliefs, I opted for semi-structured in-depth
interviews. In this way, knowledge was produced not only through par-
ticipants’ sayings, but was also the “fruit” of the interaction between
them and me.
The fieldwork was conducted from March 2015 to August 2016:
9 months in Milan and 7 months in Athens. On March 2015, I started
interviewing people and collecting data through non-participant obser-
vation. The first round of data collection in Milan lasted until September
2015, and then I moved to Athens on October 2015 where I remained
until January 2016. The second round of data collection in Milan lasted
from February 2016 to April 2016, whereas the second one was in Athens
from May 2016 to July 2016. The rationale of collecting data in two dif-
ferent rounds reflects the intention to re-adjust interview guidelines on
research across different institutional contexts, which enabled a better
30 I. Dimitriadis
comparison between the two case studies. On August 2016, I completed

the fieldwork by making a trip travel in Albania where I met some of my
interviewees while they were on holidays.
In considering different contractual forms in construction (Chap. 3), I
interviewed both waged (35) and own-account (17) workers, as well as
some employers (8) of Albanian origin. Interviews were also conducted
with stakeholders and key informants such as trade unionists (17), labour
inspectors (6), representatives of Albanian migrant associations (4), native
workers (2), architects (2), representatives of institutions related to build-
ing trades (3), (Milan’s Construction School, Small and Medium size
companies’ consultant, Institution for the Prevention of Accidents at
Work), and one officer of the Directorate of Aliens and Immigration in
Greece (1). Stakeholders’ and key informants’ testimonies enabled me to
broaden the understating of migrant workers’ decision-making and expe-
riences, and to triangulate findings, in line with previous research on
labour practices of migrant workers (see Berntsen, 2016).
Access to participants was possible through representatives of cultural
associations, acquaintances with people during Albanian community
events, trade unionists, and personal contacts. Although I was contem-
plating using snowball method to access migrant workers, this was mini-
mally practicable, since only a few initial research subjects introduced to
me new informants. Suspicion of Albanians towards researchers and
within the Albanian community has been evidenced in early research in
Italy and Greece (Kosic & Triandafyllidou, 2004). At that time, this was
because Albanians constituted a new migrant community and many of
them had irregular legal status. However, my intention was to interview
settled migrants in both contexts and suspicion towards the host society
cannot alone interpret the difficulty of initial participants to serve as
“seeds” for new contacts. A possible explanation of the difficulty to apply
the snowball technique was that a lot of migrant builders were found
themselves in vulnerable situations, and they might not desire to talk
about this. In other words, it would be quite hard for many of them to
talk about unpleasant events to an unknown person. From my initial
contacts’ point of view too, it might be awkward to call relatives or friends
asking them to participate in a sociological research focussing on the
hardships that Albanian workers and families faced. In other cases, it
might also be the unwillingness of migrants who were found in a better

economic situation to contact unemployed workers with whom they had
no professional relations anymore. In addition, it can be also assumed
that migrant builders involved in informal working arrangements would
regard me with distrust. The nature of builders’ work (occasional jobs and
move across building sites), as well as transitional mobility for work made
it difficult to organise appointments. Access to stakeholders and other
key informants has been possible by contacting them by email or through
personal contacts.
Interview guidelines for workers were divided into general thematic
units: (a) representation of the economic crisis; (b) actual situation; (c)
ways to find employment in construction; (d) coping practices to get by;
(e) employment conditions; (f ) formation and skills; (g) informal eco-
nomic arrangements; (h) representations of trade unions; (i) integration
in the host society; (j) future plans; (k) background information and life
in Albania. The same guideline was also used for employers, changing the
formulation of some questions when it concerned their perspective on
workers’ experiences. In-depth interviews with respondents were con-
ducted face-to-face in Italian and Greek languages; the great majority of
them had Italian or Greek language proficiency. Most interviews in both
contexts were conducted in cafés or parks. They were audio recorded and
lasted approximately from half an hour to two hours. The transcription
of each interview was made in the original language, and only the cita-
tions used to justify the findings were translated into English.
As for the techniques employed for each group, I opted to use more
“indirect” questions with migrant workers and representatives of associa-
tions when compared to those with trade unionists. In many cases, inter-
views with migrants had the form of what Holstein and Gubrium (1994)
call “conversational machinery”, through which meanings emerge.
Interaction with interviewees is sequentially oriented in each talk and
reflects the circumstances of its productions. When it was possible, I
opted to employ the ‘person-centred approach’ (Levy & Hollan, 1998),
that is I asked open-ended questions that permitted the interviewee to
put forward the interview in ways they prefer. This technique may allow
participants to exert some control in designing the discussion, that in
turn would prove to be very valuable in gaining data that could not be
32 I. Dimitriadis
obtained with questioning of traditional social inquiry (Boyden &

Ennew, 1997: p.8). In the case of the labour inspectors, interviews with
these informants can be categorised as ‘elite’ (Berry, 2002), as it seemed
to me that they were very attentive on what they were answering, giving
an expected politically correct answer. That is why Berry (2002) argues
that the interviewer should have in mind that the interviewee’s objectiv-
ity and sincerity should not be taken for granted; issues of validity do exist.
In conducting interviews with migrant workers, I often had to use
“indirect” questions, in the sense that interviews with migrants had the
form of what Holstein and Gubrium (1994) call “conversational machin-
ery” through which meanings emerge. When it was possible, I opted to
employ the ‘person-centred approach’ (Levy & Hollan, 1998), that is I
posed open-ended questions that permitted the interviewee to put for-
ward the interview in ways they prefer. This technique allows participants
to exert some control in designing the discussion, that in turn would
prove very valuable in gaining data that could not be obtained with the
questioning of traditional social inquiry (Boyden & Ennew, 1997: 8).
Migrants’ ages ranged widely, from 27 to 61 years (Appendix B): 5
participants were under 30 years old, unmarried and without children,
46 of them were between 30 and 50 years old and 9 participants were
over fifty. Those over 30 years old were married with two or three chil-
dren. 20 out of 29 Albanian migrants in Italy were holders of the EU
long-term residence permit, 4 had been granted a two-year residence per-
mit, 4 were Italian citizens, and one reported having an undocumented
status. In the case of Greece, 16 out of 31 respondents possessed a 10-year
stay permit (a long-term permit but without the right to work in any
other country), 7 had a short-term stay permit (from one to five years), 1
possessed the EU long-term residence permit, and 5 had Greek citizen-
ship; 2 declared to be married to Albanian women holding the Greek citi-
zenship. All respondents were settled migrants and had lived in Italy and
Greece for at least 10 years, and the majority of them had migrated dur-
ing the 1990s.
Interviews with stakeholders were conducted through guidelines that
were more structured and included the following categories: (a) actual
and past situation in the construction sector; (b) recruitment process; (c)
construction and undeclared employment; (d) the activities of the
institution in relation to (migrant) construction workers (e.g., unions,

inspectorate); and (e) accidents at work. Interviews were audio recorded,
except for those with some labour inspectors who did not allow me to
record our conversation. The duration of these interviews was from 30 to
90 minutes. Contrary to the approach, I adopted while interviewing
migrant workers, questions to stakeholders were formulated in a direct
way. In the case of the labour inspectors, interviews with these infor-
mants can be categorised as ‘elite’ (Berry, 2002). These participants
seemed to be very careful on what they were answering, giving an expected
politically correct answer. Therefore, I had in mind that the interviewee’s
objectivity and sincerity should not be taken for granted; issues of valid-
ity did exist.
Ethnographic fieldwork took place both in Milan, Athens, and satellite
cities (Dimitriadis, 2017). Non-participant observation, that is when the
research is an observer, was conducted on different occasions. In Italy, I
tried to observe the job recruitment process of builders in open spaces
(squares) in Milan, although this way was not feasible anymore, as infor-
mal intermediation of workforce became illicit since 2011 (Legislative
Decrees no 138/2011 and 199/2016). I also participated in ethnic din-
ners, events for migrants, and religious and political activities organised
by the Albanian community. In Greece, I observed procedures of unions’
assembly in Athens and a satellite city twice and job recruitment process
in street corners. I also visited a building site dressed up as trade unionist,
after having agreed upon with members of Builders’ Union in Athens.
Data from all these observations were collected by using field notes, writ-
ten up usually at the end of the day. Overall, talking or hanging out with
social actors gave me the opportunity to acquire first-hand experiences
about issues concerning construction workers and know people who
introduced me to other research participants.
My identity as a Greek male graduate student might affect responses of
research participants and attitudes towards me in different ways in each
context, since my position was contextually bounded. Positionality is a
“unique mix of race, class, gender, nationality, sexuality and other identi-
fiers” (Mullings, 1999: 337). All these characteristics may change in dif-
ferent contexts and over time when the researcher interacts with different
research subjects. In the case of Italy, I was almost clearly an outsider,
34 I. Dimitriadis
since I shared only one common characteristic with the research subjects,
that of being non-Italian, whereas in Athens I was an outsider in the eyes
of migrant workers. In addition, my origin might cause bias in the selec-
tion of research participants, as bilateral relations between Greece and
Albania have been somewhat problematic since the foundation of the
modern Albanian state, and Greek authorities and police have been often
accused of mistreatment of non-EU citizens (Samatas, 2003). This means
that migrants who accepted to be interviewed in both countries might
have a positive predisposition toward the host society in Greece and
Greeks. Concerning those in Italy, the majority of the interviewees had
migrated in the past to Greece and recounted good experiences about
how Greek people treated them; in contrast, when Albanians talked with
aversion about interactions with police and public institutions.
Saying this, I paid particular attention to the issue of my positionality.
While it was impossible for me to start with a “clean theoretical slate”
(Eisenhardt, 1989: 13)—I recognised the indirect influence of my iden-
tity in the research process—I tried to relinquish control over migrant
interviewees, and allow them to control the progress of the interview. I
attempted to be open, honest, and profoundly interested in their experi-
ences. I do not think that my position affected the quality of the data,
since, for instance, many respondents in Italy spoke out about their dis-
satisfaction for Italian state or employers, or even about their aversion to
Greek state and police; correspondingly, many migrants in Athens openly
expressed negative opinions on Greek institutions and racist views of
parts of Greek society. Overall, it is considered more important how data
is analysed, and less the information collected in itself.
Another challenge in my fieldwork research was the issue of languages.
Interviews in Italy were conducted in Italian and those in Greece in Greek
language. Lacking Albanian language skills might make research partici-
pants feel uncomfortable because they did not use their mother tongue
(Levy & Hollan, 1998). This might also be a deterrent for people with
poor skills in the local language who might be interested to be inter-
viewed. However, the focus of this research is on settled migrants and the
great majority of them generally speak adequately Italian and Greek lan-
guages. Of course, some meanings might have been slightly altered
because interviewees did not speak their mother tongue, or other mean-
ings might have been lost in translation.
Another limit of the research could be the study of a non-representative
sample. The extent to which a case study can be of relevance beyond the
sample and context under study is the Achilles’s heel of qualitative
research. However, it might be argued that research findings allow for
generalisation under certain circumstances, and mainly in those cases in
which data are reliable and valid. I tried to guarantee for reliability and
validity in both case studies through data triangulation as already argued.
As regards ethical issues, I explained to all interviewees what the con-
tents and aims were about and asked their oral agreement to record inter-
views. Even if University of Milan and Turin did not implement
applications for ethics committee approval and obtaining of informed
consent at that time, research participants were protected by privacy laws
and regulations of Italian and Greek national legislations. In any case, I
sought to guarantee the privacy of all participants protecting their iden-
tity and any sensitive data given to me. I ensured them to anonymise all
data. From their part, some participants ask me to “write everything” as
has been said, especially when expressing their reproach for institutional
actors such as police, state, labour inspectorates and trade unions, manip-
ulative employers, or racist behaviours by local people. This reflects the
“need to be heard”, that is migrants’ need to express their voice publicly,
since they had never been asked for it in the past. And I tried to do it as
best as I could, believing that it was the minimum I could do to compen-
sate all participants for their time and the information they offered to me.
Data Analysis
As the aim of this research was to explore and understand migrants’ sub-
jective experiences, the interpretivist (constructivist) paradigm formed
the ontological basis of my work. This is what Creswell (2006) calls inter-
pretivist philosophy, that is the subjective constructivist perspectives of
individuals; how people make sense of a socially and historically con-
structed reality. Within the interpretivist paradigm it is located the phe-
nomelogical inquiry, that is the “description of things as one experiences
36 I. Dimitriadis
them, or of one’s experiences of things” (Hammond et al., 1991: 1), in a

specific context. This approach requires that the researcher understands
the perspective of those who experience a lived situation, and grasps
aspects of the social reality of what the research subject perceives.
Individuals’ interpretations of what they experienced are an essential part
of what they have lived. Hence, this does not entail that the researcher
may provide generalizable laws, but s/he should seek to describe and
interpret the meanings of social actions. Therefore, what all subjects do is
to recount their experiences and justify why they acted in a specific way.
After having collected the empirical material, transcribed all sound
material, and classified other written sources, I proceeded with data anal-
ysis by using the Nvivo software. Qualitative data analysis software facili-
tates the organisation and analysis of data, thus increasing the effectiveness
and efficiency of learning from data (Bazerley & Jackson, 2013). The
coding process for the whole research project was both data- and theory-
driven. Overall, 28 themes and 206 sub-themes were produced.
The next paragraph closes this section by commenting on the selection
of Milan and Athens as localities where fieldwork was conducted.
Milan and Athens
Milan is the most populous metropolitan area in Italy with over 7 million
residents. It is located in the North-West of Italy, and is the capital of the
region of Lombardy that hosts the majority of migrant population in this
country. The municipality of Milan, with almost 1,370,000 residents, is
considered the dominant urban core in financial, economic, and com-
mercial terms in Italy (Andreotti, 2019; Cela et al., 2022). Milan consti-
tutes the driver of the national and regional economy, having among the
highest rates of productivity and employment. Milan can be considered
as a global city (Sassen, 1991) where there is a wide range of informal and
casual market economic activities (e.g., domestic work, services). Migrants
are those who supply workers to do the so-called 3D jobs. Hence, Milan
represents a “post-industrial city, both from a socioeconomic and socio-
demographic viewpoint” (Andreotti, 2006: 329).
Settlement of migrants in Milan has traditionally reflected trends at

the national level (Caponio, 2005). In the late 1970s, the first migrants
who arrived in Milan were female workers from Somalia, Eritrea, and
Philippines and they were employed in the domestic sector. In the mean-
time, political dissidents opposing authoritarian regimes in South
America, Africa, and Middle East arrived in the city, both males and
females. Since the early 1980s, Chinese migrants arrived in Italy and
many of them settled in Lombardy specialising in manufacturing and
commercial activities (Ceccagno, 2003). Since the 1990s, after the col-
lapse of the communist regimes, Milan received numerous labour
migrants from Eastern European countries such Romania, Ukraine,
Moldavia, and Bulgaria. The most significant migrant group has been the
Romanians who started to arrive in the mid-1990s, whereas their pres-
ence was consolidated after Romania’s adhesion to Schengen agreement
in 2002. Albanian male migrants arrived in Lombardy in considerable
numbers in the late 1990s and 2000s, while Albanian women mostly
joined them later through informal channels or family reunification.
Albanian men have largely worked in the construction and manufactur-
ing sectors, while Albanian women often found jobs in the domes-
tic sector.
In 2016, the migrant population residing in the province of Milan is
446,462, of whom: Egyptians 52,450; Filipinos 48,651; Romanians
47,564; Chinese 35,746; Peruvians 32,988; Ecuadorians 26,165;
Albanians, 23,666; Sri Lankans 20,646; Moroccans 19,512 (http://dati.
istat.it/). It comes therefore that immigrant population is quite heteroge-
neous and there is a variety of national groups residing in Milan and its
satellite cities.
Economic crisis that Italy experienced looked less serious in the Centre
and North than in southern regions. In contrast to the situation created
in Athens, there has been no fundamental change in migrant groups’
composition in Lombardy. The effects of crisis are considered to have dif-
ferently affected male and female employees. The number of the latter
increased much stronger than that of the former due to the dependence
of the Italian economy on female employment in the domestic and care
work sectors (Ambrosini et al., 2014b; Cela et al., 2022). At the time of
data collection, Milan had been affected by the arrival of thousands of
38 I. Dimitriadis
refugees and asylum seekers to Italy because it was mainly a transit loca-
tion for many people who continued their journey to other European
countries (Fontanari, 2018). However, it was not a settlement destination
at that time.
Moving now to the Greek case, Athens is the capital of Greece and its
population was 664,046 in 2016. The population in the Athens conurba-
tion is almost 3.7 millions, containing almost 36% of the total popula-
tion in Greece (almost 11 millions). In terms of economic activity and
population, the Athens conurbation has been traditionally the most
important region of the country. Until the early 1970s, almost half of
Greece’s industrial activity was concentrated in the Athens conurbation,
whereas by 1990 this proportion decreases to one-third (Leontidou,
1995). Onwards, the region of Attica (encompassing the entire metro-
politan area of Athens) produced 47.6% of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in Greece in 2016 (www.statistics.gr).
Athens’s development presents particular characteristics with respect to
other West European cities. Leontidou (1995) maintained that popular
control of urban land, informalisation of the housing sector, and urban
sprawl and unregulated building projects characterise the expansion of
Athens. Vaiou (2002) stated that Athens’s growth has been based on small
(family) property ownership, and the prevalence of informal working
arrangements. Mantouvalou et al. (1995) also argued that informal pat-
terns were developed into structural features of the local market with the
tolerance of the state mechanism leaving space to such informal work
that was largely accepted by native people and did not stigmatise or mar-
ginalise workforce engaged within it. Comparing Athens to other
European cities, Arapoglou and Sayas (2009) underlined the significant
difference on the share of small business owners, independent crafts and
farm owners, a percentage that appears to be triple in the Greek capital
with respect to other cities; thus reflecting the prevalence of atypical
forms of work too. However, these occupations are shrinking, giving
space to routine service and sales occupations that are growing.
Egyptians, Filipinos, and Poles were the first migrant groups to arrive
to Athens in the early 1970s and 1980s. Egyptian migrants were usually
employed as street vendors, in small artisan firms, or in construction
(Iosifides, 1997). Filipino migration concerned mainly females who were
Another random document with
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Appena Ubaldo ebbe arrestato davanti a quella porta il palafreno,
che udì la sentinella dall’alto richiederlo chi fosse e che volesse. Egli
rispose nomandosi, e disse se venire per faccenda d’alto momento e
voler essere guidato innanzi ad Alberigo Suardi. Si ritrasse il soldato
dal pertugio, e tostamente s’udì un interno chiedere e rispondere di
persone diverse. Tacquero alquanto quelle voci, indi s’intesero
elevarsi di nuovo; poscia vi tenne dietro un cigolìo d’argani, e si vide
la imposta della maggior porta, ch’era una saracinesca a cataratta
sollevarsi dal suolo grado grado e penetrare nella volta, alzandosi
tanto da ammettere dentro il Cavaliero, dietro cui tornò immantinenti
a piombar giù con formidabile scroscio, racchiudendo come prima
pesantemente la porta. Ubaldo trovossi dentro un atrio tenebroso,
serrato fra la saracinesca ed una porta opposta chiusa a battenti.
Nell’oscurità quasi compiuta in cui stava ravvolto, poichè colà non
penetrava che lievissimo barlume dall’alto, ad Ubaldo parve vedere
uomini armati aggruppati a lui d’intorno, silenti come ombre
minacciose, di cui distingueva gli sguardi fisi immobilmente su di lui.
Ogni cuore meno ardito e fermo del suo sarebbe stato colto da un
fremito involontario di terrore, trovandosi in quelle tenebre entro
angusto spazio, ricinto da un’arcana congrega di feroci avversarii;
ma a quell’anima era ignoto che fosse timore, ed essa vi stava salda
e imperturbata, piena di valentía e di quella fede cavalleresca che
era la seconda religione de’ tempi. Vennero spalancati i battenti della
porta a lui dinanzi ed ei mirossi di fronte al di là del fossato le erette
mura del Castello di cui aveva in prospetto l’entrata, alla quale
formava imposta il ponte levatoio che stava rialzato. Però quasi nello
stesso istante si smossero dalle loro alte nicchie le travi, e sospeso
alle catene mirò calare lentamente il ponte; che venne a posarsi sul
margine del petrone che formava sporto alla soglia dell’atrio della
torre, offerendo così agevole il passaggio alla fortezza. Mosse tosto
Ubaldo il destriero, sotto le cui zampe ferrate rimbombò
eccheggiando quel ponte, il quale, tocco ch’egli ebbe il limitare
interno del Castello, venne di nuovo rapidamente tratto in alto, e fu al
tempo stesso racchiusa coi battenti la porta della torre.
Il troppo fidente e generoso Ubaldo fu atteso vanamente in Bergamo
quella notte e tutta la domane da Filippo Colleoni consumato
dall’ardore d’una sfrenata impazienza. Al nuovo sorgere del dì non
vedendolo comparire, nè dai messi che avevagli spedito incontro,
udendone annunziare l’arrivo, volgendo mille orrendi dubbii nel
pensiero, Colleoni risolse partire egli stesso alla volta di Martinengo.
A tal arrischiata impresa però si opposero vivamente i suoi fidi, uno
de’ quali, il più esperto, offrì di recarsi da un segreto partigiano della
fazione guelfa, il quale, ignoto ai ghibellini, teneva dimora poco lungi
dalla terra istessa di Martinengo. Colleoni gli impose di adoperarsi a
tutt’uomo nel raccogliere quante notizie mai venissero possibili, onde
scoprire ciò che fosse avvenuto di Ubaldo, e quale potesse essere
stata la sorte de’ prigionieri. Partì con estrema sollecitudine e
segretezza l’esploratore alla volta di Martinengo, ed al suo ritorno
riferì ch’era corsa voce infatti che un guerriero guelfo fosse entrato
nel castello de’ ghibellini, ma non essere stato più veduto ad uscire
di là, e mirarsi una bandiera nera sventolare inalberata alla sommità
della torre più alta.
Chi potrà mai descrivere il colpo recato da tale annunzio nell’anima
di Colleoni? Ei cadde tramortito in braccio a’ suoi servi, la cui
desolazione giunse al colmo, poichè prolungandosi in esso lui oltre
misura quella crisi funesta, stettero in forse gli si fosse spenta la vita.
Dopo alcun tempo però esso rinvenne, e rimasto alquanto come
trasognato, alla fin fine si scosse, e le prime parole che gli uscirono
dal labbro, furono per chiedere la chiave della Torre ove stava
rinchiuso Edemondo. Quando gli fu recata, esso d’un cenno
congedò tutti i suoi famigliari; fra i quali non vi fu alcuno che,
conoscendone l’indole estrema, osasse insistere per rimanergli
d’appresso.
Era sorta intanto la notte. Sepolta nel silenzio e nel terrore stava
quella casa ove ognuno andava compreso dallo spavento d’un’alta
sciagura, fatta più tremenda dal dubbio del fatale arcano che
l’avvolgeva, di cui chi avrebbe avuto mai ardimento di squarciare il
velo?
Solo nelle appartate stanze erasi ritirato Colleoni, e l’ore notturne
ben lungi dal versare in quell’anima lacerata alcuna stilla di pace o di
quiete, ne inasprivano a mille doppii la piaga. Coperto da un pallore
di morte, irti i capegli, ora camminava esagitato, ora arrestavasi e
l’occhio gli diveniva vitreo, immoto, quasi d’uomo che sogna.
Trascorse alcun tempo fra queste ansie crudeli, indi parve dar luogo
in lui la smania disperata, sì che si assise meditabondo, e stette
coll’anima affisa in un pensiero. Ma d’uno slancio sorse esterrefatto
ed indi a poco in tuono cupo mormorò fremendo: «Sì! sangue per
sangue». Guardò d’intorno a sè, diè mano ad un pugnale che
intromise nella cintura, e tolta la lampada s’avviò a passi affrettati
per un androne interno che metteva capo all’uscio della torre, lo
schiuse ed entratovi montò le scale. Mano mano però che vi saliva il
mutare de’ suoi passi allentavasi, quasi andasse scemando a gradi
la spiata furiosa che lo trasportava, di modo che pervenuto alla
sommità della torre, presso la stanza del prigioniero, trattenne il
piede, come se una forza interna gli vietasse di procedere più oltre.
Benchè tostamente la sua esitanza fosse vinta, egli ischiuse
lentamente l’imposta, vi penetrò avanzandosi a passi misurati, e
s’arrestò presso il letto, ove mirò, non senza meraviglia, che
Edemondo giaceva immerso in profondo sonno.
Forse l’anima dell’infelice vagava fra dilette immagini, inconscia, ahi
troppo misera! dell’orrendo fato che le soprastava! Colleoni
facendosi della destra scudo agli occhi contro la luce della lampada
che sorreggeva, ne diresse il chiarore sul dormente, che stette a
lungo con cupo sguardo contemplando. Il giovine posava supino,
tutto nudo il costato, la sinistra mano ripiegata sotto la testa, steso il
destro braccio lungo il corpo. Il lume della lampada riflesso sì da
vicino sulle carni del di lui petto, mentre segnava colle ombre i più
lievi risentimenti della muscolatura, facevane spiccare il colorito, che
dilicato e vivo manifestava il rigoglioso refluire di una vita fiorente.
Leggerissimo era il suo respiro e il seno v’acconsentiva alzandosi ed
abbassandosi con movimento pressochè impercettibile. Colleoni
teneva fisi, biechi ed ardenti gli occhi sul giovine sepolto in sì
confidente riposo, e la sua mente ondeggiava divisa fra contrarii
pensieri. Già due volte la di lui mano era corsa all’impugnatura
dell’arma, e due volte pentita erasene ritratta; alla terza come se
fossero apparsi ad attizzarlo i lacerati cadaveri del padre e della
figlia, brillò sguainato il pugnale e ne scese rapida la punta al petto di
Edemondo — Ohimè!... per un filo appena l’estremità del ferro non
ne isfiorava il candore, quando udendo sorgere improvviso un
rumore dal basso, Colleoni trattenne il colpo che già inesorabilmente
cadeva. Era un battere replicato alla porta, un domandare
instantemente che s’aprisse. A Colleoni entrò rapida in cuore una
vaga speranza per cui cedendo alla subita brama di sapere chi
fosse, ripose il pugnale, ed Edemondo destandosi dal suo profondo
sonno, rimase colpito da meraviglia e spavento nell’accorgersi che
spariva dal suo carcere un lume, e nell’udire un sonante precipitar di
passi giù per le scale della torre, della quale sentì racchiudere con
violenza l’uscio di sotto.
Un monaco veniva frattanto introdotto dai servi alla presenza di
Colleoni.
— Giungo da Martinengo e... — (disse mal traendo il respiro quel
vecchio frate, il cui pallore e lo scomposto aspetto annunziavano il
sostenuto affannoso affrettamento).
— Mio padre... mio padre... mia figlia...? (l’interruppe con feroce
grido Colleoni).
— Mio nipote... Edemondo...? (chiese il monaco con voce non meno
alterata).
— Edemondo vive (rispose Colleoni cercando colla mano alla cintura
il pugnale), sì vive... ma i miei...
— I tuoi... vivono parimenti e se...
— Ed Ubaldo, il mio Ubaldo?
— Egli pure è salvo, e sta in tuo potere il farli liberi tutti ed
abbracciarli tra poco in questo stesso palazzo. —
Come sul mare livido per tempesta, brilla dalle nubi squarciate un
raggio di sole foriero del serenarsi del cielo e della calma, così
queste brevi parole del monaco bastarono ad irradiare l’anima del
Colleoni e fugarne la nera disperazione che vi regnava.
— Vive mio padre? mia figlia, il mio Ubaldo vivono? ed io li vedrò qui
tra poco? Ma ascolto io il vero? Non m’ingannate voi? — e
nell’eccesso del contento Colleoni stringevasi convulso al cuore la
destra del Francescano, il quale accertandolo della verità de’ suoi
detti, si fece a narrargli come egli stesso col padre Stefano da
Vimercate e con due frati Domenicani, si fosse recato a Martinengo,
e là congregati i principali della ghibellina fazione, capo de’ quali era
Alberigo Suardi, perorassero in faccia a loro caldamente in pro della
pace e dalla riconciliazione delle avverse parti, il cui osteggiare
tornava sì fatale a loro stessi, ed alla prosperità della patria comune.
Ma sulle prime le loro parole non partorirono effetto, poichè
essendovi fra gli adunati Ferrino da Iseo, uomo di scaltri pensieri e
sottile favellatore, costui vantandosi d’avere abbandonato la parte
guelfa siccome composta di gente scellerata e servile, opponevasi a
tutta possa a che si venisse mai a patti con essa. Egli vinse allora il
partito, benchè i monaci con santa arditezza imprecassero sul suo
capo la punizione del cielo per l’opera iniqua con cui riusciva a
tenere aperta la cruenta piaga ch’essi forzavansi rimarginare.
S’aggiunse inoltre che essendosi nel dì successivo al castello de’
ghibellini presentato il guelfo guerriero Ubaldo Vertua con pacifica
missione, benchè vi fosse stato accolto amichevolmente prevalse di
nuovo il perfido parere di Ferrino che non s’ascoltasse il Vertua, anzi
venisse posto come nimico in catene, lo che, sebbene ripugnasse
altamente al Suardi, venne per la volontà dei più fatto eseguire. Ma
volle Iddio con terribile esempio manifestare quanto detestasse sì
inaudita infamia e slealtà; poichè il mattino seguente fu trovato
Ferrino steso sul suo letto tutto livido e nero, e già fatto cadavere. Sì
tremendo caso mise in cuor di ciascuno un salutare terrore, per cui
raccolti di nuovo in adunanza i ghibellini convennero in ciò che i
monaci interpellati i guelfi concordemente stabilissero i patti per
ricomporre ogni discordia fra le due parti, e per il ritorno di essi
ghibellini in Bergamo.
L’ansia crudelissima patita per la temuta morte de’ suoi più cari, era
stata di fiero insegnamento a Filippo Colleoni sugli amari frutti delle
nimicizie cittadine, quindi prontamente l’animo suo piegossi ai sensi
di pace che Iddio voleva. Venuto il chiaro giorno, Colleoni adunò i
capi della parte guelfa e fece loro accogliere la proposta
riconciliazione. Coll’opera dello zio d’Edemondo e degli altri monaci
proseguirono le trattative e fu stabilito il giorno che i ghibellini
avrebbero fatto il loro ingresso nella città e sarebbe così cessata per
sempre quell’ira faziosa che aveva costato tante lagrime e tanto
sangue.
Nello stesso palazzo, nella stessa sala ove aveva udita la crudele
novella di loro cattività, Filippo Colleoni, circondato da’ suoi, vide
alfine entrare il proprio padre, la figlia Adelasia, il generoso Vertua, e
venire con essi Alberigo Suardi e molti di coloro che aveva sempre
considerati quali suoi più implacabili nimici. I monaci stavano quivi e
gli uni e gli altri per sì fausta risoluzione con ogni più sacra e lieta
parola laudavano. Non giova descrivere con quale trasporto di gioja
Colleoni si slanciò innanzi al genitore, alla figlia, l’uno e l’altra
stringendosi reiteratamente al cuore, nel tempo stesso che
Edemondo abbracciava il padre suo, il fiero Suardi, il quale
intendeva in quell’istante la prima volta esservi ben altri diletti che
que’ sanguinosi dell’armi.
Commossi entrambi i due guerrieri sì lungamente avversi, si
guardarono miti, e avvicinatisi alfine strinsero con tenerezza uno
presso all’altro quei petti, in cui tanto e sì insaziabile sdegno era
bollito.
Vertua pose il colmo alla sua magnanimità rinunziando alla mano
d’Adelasia, che volle fosse data al giovine Edemondo come arra di
pace; unendo di un tal nodo il sangue de’ due più potenti capi
avversarii. E non era questo il loro secreto voto, la loro più diletta
speranza? Essi avevano vissuto vicino, ed eransi secretamente
amati, quando ignare dell’ire future le due famiglie non si odiavano
ancora. Perchè il valente Edemondo aveva sulle sponde del Serio
risparmiata la vita a Colleoni perigliando la sua? Egli non aveva
veduto nel nemico che il padre d’Adelasia, e quella vita divenne
sacra per lui!
La insperata pace e il ritorno de’ ghibellini furono causa in Bergamo
di giubilo universale. In memoria poi di sì lieto evento fu decretato
(narra uno storico) che ogni anno nel giorno solenne della Natività
convenissero i cittadini co’ loro parrochi a visitare la chiesa di Santo
Stefano, e dopo che questa venne atterrata, si ordinò che tal visita si
facesse alla chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, come sino all’anno
1630 si costumò.
FINE.
LA BISCIA AMOROSA
DANZA MILANESE
(ANNO 1580)
Chi di saper desia

Movere i passi ora veloci or lenti.
Con grazia e leggiadria
Concordi al suon de’ musici concenti,
Miri la bella schiera
Che con un dolce inchino, un giro, un passo
Ferisce i cor di sasso,
Ma di colpi sì cari e sì graditi
Ch’ognor bramâr gli amanti esser feriti.
Madrigale
dell’Etereo Accademico Inquieto.
In casa Sforza davasi una magnifica festa da ballo. Affluivano sulla

piazza di san Giovanni alla Conca, ove sorge quel palazzo, servi e
valletti, precedendo colle torce i loro signori. Nelle lettiche
fiancheggiate da staffieri muniti di fiaccole venivano le dame, altre
dalla contrada di Zebedia, altre da quella de’ Nobili o dalla strada de’
Settali [24]; alcuni de’ gentiluomini giungevano a cavallo.
Sulla piazza era un mescolamento infinito di persone, ed un
immenso bisbiglio. La luce di tanti lumi si rifletteva sui circostanti
edificii congiunta a quella che più viva e splendente riboccava da
tutte le finestre e dalla gran porta del festante palazzo. Quel chiarore
riverberavasi da un lato sulle mura del convento de’ Barnabiti di
sant’Alessandro, ch’era allora un basso e modesto edificio, dall’altra
parte diffondevasi sulla facciata della chiesa di san Giovanni in
Conca, e andava perdendosi sulla torre di san Zenone, imbiancata
dal raggio della luna nascente, che listavasi a traverso le gottiche
arcate del portico, il quale congiungeva la Casa de’ cani col castello
della torretta, antico monumento della grandezza e potenza di
Bernabò Visconti.
Sulla soglia della porta del palazzo Sforza erano quattro alabardieri
che formavano ala, e paggi e servi della casa in ricche assise che
introducevano gl’invitati; nell’atrio e per lo scalone altri ve ne
avevano che rispettosamente facevangli passar oltre. Giungevano
continuamente dame e cavalieri; entravano a due, a tre insieme i
giovani patrizii, altri silenziosi, altri chiacchierando, ridendo, o
vivacemente interpellandosi: tutti portavano la cappa, il berretto con
ala in giro strettissima, e la spada; nel rimanente la foggia de’ loro
vestimenti era svariatissima. Si videro venire l’un dopo l’altro i
giovani più conosciuti nella città, sia per lo sfoggio degli abiti e de’
cavalli, sia per l’ardimento nelle galanti imprese, o pel numero de’
duelli: tale celebrità se la dividevano allora un Lonato, un
Lampugnano, Costanzo d’Adda, Ermes Visconte, Manfredo Poro,
Triulzo, e i due spagnuoli Camarasso e Cordova.
Le dame arrivavano ne’ più sfarzosi abbigliamenti conducendovi le
figlie e seguite dai mariti. Vi si presentarono per le prime la Cicogna
e l’Erba, i cui palazzi erano vicini: vi venne la contessa Elena
Archinto col conte Orazio suo sposo, e la di lui sorella Massimilla
moglie di Battista Litta con tre leggiadre nipoti; il conte Giovanni
Arcimboldi vi condusse la sua bella consorte Cassandra degli
Affaitati cremonese; Renato Borromeo, la sua Ersilia dei duchi
Farnesi, il barone Bonifazio Visconti di Castelletto la sua Antonietta
Cadamosta. Livia Barbò venne insieme al marito Galasso Landriani;
i due senatori Marc’Antonio Aresi e Lodovico Taverna
v’accompagnarono le mogli Ippolita Clara e Dorotea Filiodona,
entrambe madri di amabilissima prole. L’elegante e spiritosa
francese Claudia di Saint-Germain sposa del Conte Giambattista
Arconati, la dignitosa Irene d’Avalos, la vezzosa Deidamia Vistarini,
Marcellina Balbiano di Belgiojoso, Deianira Corio, Sigismonda
d’Este, Laura Gonzaga, Bianca Beccaria, furono per avvenenza le
più distinte tra quelle che onorarono quel festoso convegno.
Le sale erano addobbate colla pompa che s’addiceva alla nobiltà ed
alla ricchezza della casa, non che al solenne impegno. Nelle prime
camere scorgevansi tutte le pareti coperte di arazzi fiamminghi, altri
istoriati, altri rappresentanti ogni specie di frutti e d’animali, trapunti
con arte squisitissima; progredendo miravansi stanze adorne di
statue antiche, di quadri, di tavole con vasi preziosi. La profusione
però dell’oro e dei lumi era nella vastissima sala destinata al ballo:
quivi lo splendore dei doppieri e delle lampade veniva moltiplicato
da’ grandi specchi di Venezia, oggetto a que’ tempi di sommo lusso,
che pendevano obbliqui alle pareti in ampie cornici.
Volgendo lo sguardo alla moltitudine che spesseggiava sotto quella
ricca vôlta, l’occhio rimaneva abbagliato dalla quantità dei giojelli,
delle pietre preziose, de’ vezzi sfolgoranti, de’ drappi contesti d’oro e
d’argento di che andavano adorni sì le dame che i cavalieri colà
raccolti e frammisti.
Allora la moda, sempre imperante, capricciosa, non concedeva al
gentil sesso i lievissimi veli, i vaporosi tessuti, la semplice seta: un
abbigliamento da festa o da gala consideravasi tanto più sontuoso
ed elegante quanto più era pesante e sopraccaricato di guarnimenti.
Infatti le dame s’avevano vesti lunghe di damasco o di broccato: i
collari, sia lisci od increspati, a lattuga od a canna, sia rotondi,
ellittici, ovali o quadrati, erano tutti alti, eretti, imbozzimati colla salda,
sì che punto non iscomponevansi. Gli ornamenti sulle gonne e le
sopravvesti mostravansi infiniti: se ne miravano di quelle tutte sparse
di rose di perle, altre di capocchie d’oro, altre persino listate da
piume d’uccelli. L’acconciamento femminile del capo variava di poco;
alcune portavano da un lato della testa una penna d’airone, altre
s’avevano pennacchietti e spilli brillantati. Rispetto alla capigliatura la
foggia in che la tenevano gli uomini era conforme al costume
moderno: avevano i capelli corti su tutto il capo, eccetto i giovani che
li portavano più abbondanti alle tempia e sull’alto della fronte per
comporli a ciuffo. Come già accennammo i cavalieri avevano al
fianco la spada e portavano il berretto e la cappa, ossia mantelletto
breve, che dai più galanti veniva raccolto con arte sul braccio, lo che
aggiungeva grazia e maestà alla persona. Al principiare
dell’adunanza, mentre continuava il giungere degli invitati, molti
furono qua e là gli inchini, i saluti delle coppie che si scontravano per
le sale, molto il curioso girar delle persone per rimirarsi a vicenda.
Il portamento degli uomini e delle donne, se in generale si parli, era
dignitoso e sostenuto, poichè in questa città le maniere sociali
sapevano già alquanto dello spagnuolesco. E per vero dire
vedevansi alcuni dei nobili più elevati in grado o dignità assumere
nel loro contegno l’iberico sussiego. Altri all’incontro inclinava di
troppo a quella baldanza avventata che manifesta un’indole ardita e
venturiera, propria in que’ giorni della nazione che signoreggiava
queste contrade. Non è per questo da inferire, che l’antico carattere
patrio fosse totalmente smarrito: era troppo recente lo straniero
dominio per avere già operato un sì funesto cambiamento, e infatti
non vi bastarono due secoli interi. Molti vedevansi ancora che nei
loro modi e nell’espressione degli sguardi e della fisonomia chiaro
dimostravano non avere patito influsso delle genti d’oltremare, in
tutto serbando quel fare veramente lombardo, cioè gajo, giocondo e
svegliato.
Fra quelli che potevano essere per tal guisa più meritamente
designati eravi un giovine, Lindo Manfredi, di vent’anni allo incirca, di
chiara stirpe, ilare e dolce, ma pieno d’una naturale vivezza e vigoría
di sentimenti. Bello della persona, snello e leggiadro quant’altri mai,
s’aggirava, lieto in volto, per quelle aule popolose, al braccio or d’un
compagno, ora d’un altro, colmo il cuore d’una contentezza ingenua
e pura. Tutto ei mirava con occhio soddisfatto: i singoli oggetti
recavangli un mare di piacevoli sensazioni: poichè oltre
l’appagamento che mettevagli in cuore il vedersi fra tante meraviglie
in così magnifico e splendido luogo, s’aveva in aspettativa un diletto
più sentito, di una dolcezza indicibile, intorno a cui tutta quella
profusione di chiarori, quell’oro, quelle gemme, formavano come un
cerchio sfolgorante, che colorito dai prestigi di una focosa
immaginazione ne duplicava l’incanto.
Era entrata nella sala una giovine donna a lato ad un cavaliero.
Lindo Manfredi velocemente staccatosi da quegli a cui stava vicino,
aveva fatto ai due venuti un saluto distinto ed avevagli seguiti sin là
dove la giovine donna s’assise fra altre fanciulle e matrone. Gli
sguardi degli astanti s’erano tutti rivolti verso la nuova beltà
sopraggiunta, ed era forza infatti per sino al più freddo ed accigliato
vegliardo di accordarle un tributo d’ammirazione. Si rammenterà
forse il lettore d’avere vedute in alcuni dipinti del Gaudenzio o dei
Luino certe giovinette di perfettissime forme, tutte spiranti candore e
floridezza, co’ capelli biondi divisi sulle tempia in due masse di
minutissimi ricci, nel viso alle quali v’ha un’impronta di beltà sublime
ma tutta verità e naturalezza; ebbene una di tali immagini
rappresentare gli può colei che qui indichiamo.
Varii giovani patrizii che stavano a gruppo nel mezzo della sala,
dopo averla rimirata attentamente, avevano preso, com’è costume, a
parlarne con calore, chi l’una cosa, chi l’altra intorno a lei
esponendo, quando s’avanzò verso di essi, con portamento altiero,
obbliquo il berretto sulla testa, espanso il bruno mantelletto,
Camarasso, figlio dell’ispanico marchese dell’Hynoiosa, e piantatosi
fra loro chiese a forte voce:
— Chi è quel bel sole?
— A che vuoi tu saperlo? (rispose l’uno) non è per te che qui
risplende.
— Per cento teste di mori! ti domando il suo nome: me lo vuoi tu
dire?
— Io non lo so.
— È dei Guaraldi (aggiunse un altro), si chiama Gabriella, ed ha la
casa vicino all’ospizio de’ Pellegrini bianchi.
— Gabriella? ai Pellegrini bianchi? Per sant’Ovidio (gridò
Camarasso), mi colga il fulmine se non è la prima volta ch’io la
veggo. In questa maledetta città non si finisce mai di conoscere le
belle donne.
— È fanciulla, sai tu? non le leggi in volto che potrebbe entrare
domani nelle verginelle della Pietà?
— Anche questo pretendi sapere?... ma sull’essere fanciulla,
Sagramoro, ne menti: è venuta al ballo con suo marito: i miei occhi
valgono quelli del re nostro signore.
— Che tu possa perderli sull’istante! Apprendi che quello che la
condusse non le è marito; ma è Brunato, suo fratello.
— Un cancro al cuore! non lo credo.
— Sì, sì, è vero (disse con rapide parole un ragazzetto ch’era quivi
pure a cerchio): Brunato è proprio il fratello della signora Gabriella: io
li conosco; hanno un bel giardino ove comandano essi soli, poichè
padre e madre li sono morti da gran tempo. La signora Gabriella poi
balla tanto bene, che è una maraviglia a vederla: sarà venuta qui a
bella posta; e questa sera ballerà, eh, signor Sagramoro?
— Quanto m’annoii, chiacchierino! vuoi cacciare il naso ove non ti
spetta. Guarda là Luchetto Vimercate; va, va a girare con lui per le
sale.
— Non ha più nè padre nè madre, ha detto quel ragazzo? (così
riprese uno della brigata). È dunque un castello senza bastioni e
rivellini: allora niente niente che si possa intendersi col presidio, il
ponte levatojo vien calato. Non dico bene? — e diede in uno scoppio
di riso.
— Mi voto alla bella bionda de’ Pellegrini bianchi! (esclamò
Camarasso, con un sorriso maligno, portando la destra al cuore).
— Alto là: la piazza è già presa (esclamò un terzo). Conoscete Lindo
Manfredi?
— Sì: il figlio del conte Riccardo. Apprese con me la scienza d’armi
alle lezioni di Morone del Pino in san Pietro all’Orto (rispose uno
degli interlocutori).
— Con me veniva da Cesarino Negri, il Trombone, che c’insegnava
a ballare (disse un altro); e ohei! era un mustacchio per far da
mattaccino alla gagliarda. —
Camarasso si tolse dispettosamente il berretto, passò le dita ne’
capegli arruffandogli, diede un’occhiata irosa a quegli che aveva
nominato Lindo Manfredi, e con voce risentita disse:
— Chi è costui? Che c’entra?... Giuoco mille crocioni contro una
patacca, che a chi volesse disputarmi quella testa d’oro non lascio il
tempo d’aggiustare i conti col demonio.
— Tu ciarli al vento; e Lindo intanto è padrone del cuore della bella
— profferì Sagramoro, che col chiudere e riaprire lestamente un
occhio fe’ intendere ai compagni l’intenzione che aveva di sollazzarsi
coll’istizzire Camarasso, e proseguì: — Non l’hai veduto, che appena
ella fu qui entrata le si fece vicino, e si dissero varie parolette melate:
l’ha impegnata di certo pel Tordiglione, il Pastor leggiadro, o la
Biscia; li vedremo danzare insieme poichè ella gli ha detto un sì, uno
di quei sì da far correre l’acquolina alla bocca a un uom di stucco.
Vedilo, ei viene verso di noi: osserva n’è ancor radiante in faccia. —
Ciò detto Sagramoro s’allontanò. Camarasso che fermo su’ due
piedi, s’era riposto il berretto più obbliquo di prima: accuminò le
basette, e rilevato il collare, incrocicchiò sul petto le braccia. Lindo
assorto in deliziosi pensamenti dirigevasi inavveduto verso quella
parte della sala, nè si accorse di lui che quando gli fu affatto
d’appresso. Allora rimase colpito quasi da paura al vedere colui,
ch’ei neppure conosceva, tenergli addosso fisamente gli occhi fieri,
minacciosi, mostrando nell’atteggiamento della persona un’aria tutta
di disprezzo e di provocazione. A bella prima, fosse effetto della
sorpresa o del turbamento, progredì per alcuni passi sotto il giogo
della timidezza: ma sbandito ad un tratto quell’inusitato sgomento, si
rivolse arditamente, e alto il capo, una mano sull’elsa della spada,
ritornò verso quegli ch’ei già qualificava suo insultatore. Quando gli
fu di contro si arrestò: l’altro stava immobile ancora: nè potrebbesi
descrivere con parole la ferocia dello sguardo che quei due si
scambiarono in tal istante; conteneva tutto il fuoco dell’odio,
dell’abborrimento.
Alcuni de’ cavalieri astanti senza punto avvedersi di quel tacito
sfidarsi de’ due giovani, passarono congiuntamente favellando in
mezzo a loro, ond’essi rimasti per tal modo divisi, si scostarono
movendo per la sala in parti opposte. Camarasso si frammischiò alla
sua brigata che si diresse ove era Sagramoro. Lindo Manfredi solo e
concentrato in sè stesso andava con premura investigando nella sua
mente qual essere poteva la cagione di quell’ira ingiuriosa sì
inaspettatamente contro di lui manifestata. E conoscendosi
innocente d’ogni atto offensivo, l’ingiusto oltraggio gli piombava più
amaro nell’anima e suscitavagli vampe di sdegno, e progetti di
vendetta: ma furono lampi passaggieri, però che apparve in quella
nascente tempesta un pensiero, che il bollore furente del sangue
acquetò, ricondusse negli spiriti il sereno: un pensiero innanzi a cui
fuggì rapida la nera nube dell’odio; e Lindo compiacendosi in esso,
sentì il cuore riaprirsi e s’espandere sì dolcemente, che avrebbe in
quel punto stretta al seno affettuosamente la mano del più
abbominato nemico. Era un pensiero d’amore. — Maravigliosa
potenza! — Gabriella trovavasi colà e attendevalo impaziente di
slanciarsi seco lui nella giojosa danza: ciò bastava ond’ogni tetra
idea sparisse incontanente. Egli la cercò collo sguardo, e fra il vano
lasciato dagli astanti la vide che verso di lui intendeva le pupille: le
sorrise, e s’incamminò alla sua volta.
Ella senza punto tradire il più modesto contegno, l’andava
osservando con viva cura, ed al suo appressarsi si vide cessarle sul
volto la traccia di un lieve corruccio. In quel geloso convegno d’altere
donne fra cui Gabriella sedeva, non fu lecito a Lindo d’arrestarsi a
favellarle; solo passandole innanzi le rammemorò in brevi e cortesi
parole l’impegno della danza, a cui ella rispose con atto gentile.
Incominciava il ballo. — I suonatori coi loro strumenti, ch’erano liuti,
viole e dolcemele, andatisi a collocare sul palco che a guisa di loggia
era appositamente eretto fra due colonne, avevano preludiato per
accordarsi, indi eseguito come ad avvertimento il primo ritornello
dell’Alta Visconte, specie di ballo che a’ nostri giorni verrebbe
ascritto al novero dei minuetti. Tutti gli spettatori avevano sgombrato
il centro della sala, e gli uomini s’erano affollati dietro i sedili delle
dame. Quattro cavalieri presentatisi ad altrettante di esse, le
conducevano a mano in atteggiamento rispettoso verso il mezzo, e
postesi le varie coppie di fronte davano principio al ballo. L’Alta
Visconte era una danza tutta gravità e compostezza; voleva
movimenti posati, lentezza ne’ passi, e portamento serio e
maestoso. Solevasi con essa aprire la festa affinchè vi potessero
prender parte le dame e i cavalieri più ragguardevoli fra i convenuti,
e spesse volte nè le une, nè gli altri trovavansi nel fiore dell’età. Il
rigoroso cerimoniale de’ tempi, che voleva appartenesse il primato in
ogni cosa ai gradi sociali più cospicui, costrinse talvolta a danzare le
principesse settuagenarie, gli arcivescovi, i cardinali, come ben sa
chi ha in uso la storia.
Datosi compimento al primo ballo i danzatori ricondussero a’ loro
seggi le dame, indi si ritrassero per far luogo a quattro giovani tutti di
aspetto vigoroso, i quali si presentarono per ballare il Torneo alla
Normanda, ch’era una specie di danza pirrica accompagnata da
musica forte e guerresca, portando ciascuno di quelli che
l’eseguivano un lungo bastone rivestito di velluto bianco con un
pomo dorato all’estremità, il quale simulava un’asta. I moti or
misurati, ora precipitosi indicavano assalti e difese che s’andavano
variando con bell’accordo, sì che le posizioni de’ ballerini riuscivano
sempre simmetriche, ed era vago a vedersi l’intreccio delle aste,
l’alzarle, l’abbassarle, il congiungerle, il disunirle in rigore di tempo e
di misura.
Questi quattro ebbero le lodi di tutta l’adunanza; e successero al loro
ballo rumorosi ragionamenti che continuarono sinchè fu intuonata la
Biscia Amorosa. La musica di questa danza era sommamente
melodiosa, e terminava con una frase patetica, la quale ritornava
ogni volta come un intercalare significativo d’un sentimento dolce e
melanconico. Il risuonare di tal musica espressiva ricondusse un
silenzio universale fra gli spettatori, quasi fosse sorta una voce
soave ad annunziare una desiata novella. Quel silenzio venne rotto
da un generale mormorio d’approvazione tosto che si videro le belle
persone di Lindo e Gabriella avanzarsi nel mezzo della sala per
eseguire la danza. Allorchè essi ebbero con un dolce inchino
salutata l’assemblea, rinacque in tutta la sala il silenzio, eccetto che
in un lato solo ove stava Camarasso, che con faccia turbolenta
proferiva bestemmie e minaccie, e Sagramoro, il quale facendosi
forza a soffocare le risa l’andava acquetando, e non vi riuscì che al
momento in cui ebbe principio il ballo.
Con placide movenze in consonanza alla queta armonia, la
leggiadra Guaraldi incominciò ad avanzarsi e ritrarsi, mentre più
discosto ed a riscontro di lei, Lindo eseguiva eguali moti e figure.
Quasi due timidi amanti, che al primo scorgersi da lungi non osano
accostarsi, i due danzanti esprimevano dubbietà e ritrosìa; ma al
sorgere della frase più patetica, quasi fossero tratti dalla magìa del
suono, s’avanzarono l’un verso l’altro rimirandosi in volto. Cambiò la
musica e la fanciulla e il giovine stornati gli sguardi e ripiegate le
mani al sottile del corpo con passi lisci strisciati a terra girarono a
cerchio l’un contro l’altro e si dipartirono ai lati opposti.
Ricominciò il passeggio de’ due ballerini in distanza, e lo fecero
d’alcun poco più mosso ed animato che pria non fosse, quindi
s’avvicinarono e dipartirono con maggior brio. La terza volta ruppero
con leggiadria indescrivibile in fioretti e passi vivi. Lindo alternava
con somma bravura, spezzate, capriole, salti del fiocco, mentre
l’avvenente Gabriella rapiva gli sguardi con intrecciate, passate e
giri. Sotto di lei sembrava elastico il suolo, tanto era la leggerezza
con cui s’alzava, ricadeva, gruppava e sgruppava i piedi, sempre
sostenendo in vaghissima foggia le braccia, il corpo, la testa. Le sue
forme facevansi più o meno apparenti a seconda della rapidità delle
mosse, come nello slancio del volo si manifestano sotto il velo
d’un’angioletta i suoi contorni divini. Al ripetuto invito del patetico
suono i due giovani si fecero nuovamente incontro continuando la
loro danza animata. Lo sguardo d’entrambi era fulgente e pieno di
vita. Non si divisero questa volta; ma congiunta destra a destra,
seguendo l’impulso della musica che divenne più rapida indi
precipitosa, movevano concordemente i piedi in passi agilissimi,
avanzandosi, ritraendosi, girando intorno a sè stessi, e fu sempre sì
giusto l’accordo, sì grazioso l’atteggiarsi d’entrambi, che i più
rumorosi applausi scoppiarono da tutti gli spettatori, ed essi diedero
termine alla loro danza con vero trionfo.
Gabriella nè lassa, nè scomposta, con un sorriso gentile sull’animate
guance, veniva ricondotta da Lindo al seggio ch’essa occupava da
prima. I giovani cavalieri facevano ressa sul suo passaggio e la
miravano intenti e curiosi con isguardi accarezzanti, inviandole
studiate parole di lode per la di lei valentia nella danza e più forse
per i pregi della persona.
L’ardito Camarasso sbrigatosi da Sagramoro che pur trattenere lo
voleva, uscendo di mezzo agli altri, le si piantò in faccia, e:
— Vaghissima dea, le disse, io vi proclamo regina della bellezza, ed
a chi ardisse accusarmi di menzogna, lo sosterrò con taglio e punta.
Ma come si osservano le macchie del sole senza che quel lucido
astro si sdegni, permettete voi pure di dirvi che rimarrebbe offuscato
il più vivo raggio di vostra beltà se in luogo di premiare un valoroso
campione, foste resa tributaria d’amore da un cialtroncello, salterino,
bellimbusto. —
La sconvenevolezza e la temerità di tali inaspettate parole, che tutti
compresero essere dirette al giovine Manfredi, fecero nascere un
grave susurro fra i circostanti, ma nessuno osò farne apertamente
rimprovero allo Spagnuolo di cui era nota l’avventatezza, la
gagliardia, e la fortuna nel giuoco delle armi. Gabriella progredì
dignitosa senza che pur sembrasse avervi prestato orecchio, e si
riassise in aspetto placida e tranquilla. Sul volto di Lindo ad un
pallore di morte, successe un vivo rossore; appena fu congedato da
lei si diresse alla volta di Camarasso e lo percosse colla mano sulla
spalla.
— Oh che vuole, signor mio? — disse lo Spagnuolo rivolgendosi con
aria beffarda.
— Usciamo da questa sala — rispose l’altro a bassa voce, ma in
tuono risoluto.
Camarasso, volto ai compagni con un sogghigno. — V’ho detto io,
che avrei trovato modo di far venire la lepre da sè sullo spiedo. —
Usciamo pure. —
Si recarono accompagnati da Sagramoro in una delle camere
lontane ove non eravi persona. Ivi lo Spagnuolo ripetè: — Qui siamo
liberi, dica adunque che vuole?
— Voglio ragione dell’insulto che mi hai fatto.
— Giacchè stimi così poco la tua vita, la ragione te la darò.
— Può darsi ch’io sia destinato a fiaccare la tua baldanza.
— Se non fossi certo di crivellarti il petto a stoccate, ti darei una
mano nel viso.
— Fuori la spada, vigliacco impudente!
— Oibò! (proferì Sagramoro interponendosi) in casa degli Sforza un
duello e nel tempo d’una festa da ballo? volete farvi chiudere in
rocchetta? Pazzie! Aspettate domani: vi sono tanti bei luoghi
adattati.
— Ebbene domani — esclamò Lindo.
— Sì, domani — rispose Camarasso.
— Ma dove, ed a qual ora? qui bisogna intendersi (continuò
Sagramoro). Le buone regole vorrebbero che fosse di mattino; ma a
causa della festa di questa notte si può differire al dopo pranzo, così
verso le ventidue ore: quanto al luogo il migliore parmi la rotonda del
bosco presso il convento di sant’Ambrogio ad Nemus [25]. Che ne
dite?
— Ottimamente. Riguardo poi alle armi (aggiunse Camarasso) io
sono lo sfidato, voglio la scelta: spada e pugnale.
— Sia come brami: ci rivedremo domani a ventidue ore nella
Rotonda del bosco.
— Ci rivedremo. —
Sagramoro e Camarasso rientrarono nella sala sghignazzando tra
essi. Il maggior numero degli astanti ben erasi avveduto che aveva
avuto luogo una sfida; ma ciò essendo un avvenimento consueto
non produsse punto maraviglia, nè venne per il capo ad alcuno di
porre ostacolo all’esecuzione, sebbene varii già deplorassero la
sorte di Lindo. Ritornato esso pure indi a poco nella sala, s’accorse
che Gabriella era sparita, e persuaso che fosse cagione dell’offesa
fattagli dallo Spagnuolo si consolò d’averlo tratto a cimento e
anelava l’istante di misurarsi con lui.
Lasciò trascorrere qualche poco di tempo ancora, quindi si ritrasse
passo passo dalla festa, e uscito dal palazzo Sforza s’avviò alla
propria casa. Qual doloroso contrasto far dovevano nell’animo suo lo
splendore delle sale festose, la gioja passata, i palpiti d’amore, colla
fredda oscurità della strada, colla solitudine, il notturno silenzio, e
l’aspetto d’un avvenire sì vicino ch’essergli poteva fatale!
Il giorno seguente presso le ventidue ore [26], Lindo camminava
lungo i terrapieni esterni del castello avviandosi a passi affrettati
verso il bosco di sant’Ambrogio ad Nemus. Altri non aveva seco che
un fido servo, a cui nell’uscire di casa aveva ingiunto
d’accompagnarlo senza palesargli però l’oggetto di quell’andata.
Lasciate a destra le case del borgo, quando toccarono il sentiero che
attraversava l’ultime ortaglie confinanti colla selva del monastero,
Lindo allentò il passo, e rivolto al servo:
— Senti, Ippolito, (disse) tu mi rendi un servigio che può forse
essere l’ultimo; ma se tale non fosse, io te ne sarò grato per tutto il
tempo della vita.
— Come l’ultimo, signor mio bello? che brutti pensieri gli passano
per la testa?
— Ora è pur d’uopo ch’io te lo dica. Mio buon Ippolito, noi andiamo
sul terreno d’una sfida.

Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis Worker Agency Immobility Practices and Masculine Identities Among Albanians in Southern Europe Iraklis Dimitriadis Full Chapter

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Migrant Construction Workers in Times of Crisis Worker Agency Immobility Practices and Masculine Identities Among Albanians in Southern Europe Iraklis Dimitriadis Full Chapter

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Copyright:

Available Formats

Migrant Construction Workers in Times

of Crisis: Worker Agency, (Im)mobility

“This timely research contributes to our understanding of migrant agency in

“The construction sector, while being so important for the employment of

ISBN 978-3-031-18797-1 ISBN 978-3-031-18798-8 (eBook)

Cover illustration: Andreas Karelias / Alamy Stock Photo

comparatively analysing narratives of settled Albanian male migrants and

Milan, Italy Iraklis Dimitriadis

2 Contexts, Methods, and Analytical Framework 13

This book explores the agency of migrant construction workers in a

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

et al., 2018; Triandafyllidou, 2022). This is particularly relevant for

the hallmarks of construction work and the intersections of labour agency,

Alluding to migrants’ coping practices during the Great recession and

To answer the above research questions, this book adopts a micro-level

migration policies at the national and international levels, regulations in

trade unionists, representative of cultural associations, labour inspectors)

and its relevance to migrant labour. Particular emphasis is put on the

This chapter presents some characteristics of the contexts where fieldwork

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 13

migration processes at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels are provided,

rigidity in legal and administrative procedures (Fakiolas, 2003; Reyneri,

up to three months in Schengen countries. This enables them to explore

 Brief Overview on Immigration

insertion into the labour market. In general, recruitment schemes in both

migrants. A growing number of civil society organisations have been

themselves, which were particularly high in the first years of migration

Residential Construction and Migrant Labour

within firms and construction firms themselves. The majority of firms in

security (Piore, 1979; Friberg, 2012). Moreover, access to construction is

The Italian Construction Sector

The construction sector in Italy enjoyed a rapid phase of growth from

crisis of 2007–2008, some changes have been observed as regards the

informal channels (Reyneri, 1998). In 2016, the main migrant groups

The Greek Construction Sector

Contracting Companies and Limited Liability Companies. However,

Research Design and Methods

“hard-to-reach” populations as that of migrants who are involved in

comparison between the two case studies. On August 2016, I completed

might also be the unwillingness of migrants who were found in a better

obtained with questioning of traditional social inquiry (Boyden &

institution in relation to (migrant) construction workers (e.g., unions,

them, or of one’s experiences of things” (Hammond et al., 1991: 1), in a

Milan and Athens

Settlement of migrants in Milan has traditionally reflected trends at

Chi di saper desia

In casa Sforza davasi una magnifica festa da ballo. Affluivano sulla

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Milan, Italy Iraklis Dimitriadis

2 Contexts, Methods, and Analytical Framework 13

Brief Overview on Immigration

Residential Construction and Migrant Labour

The Italian Construction Sector

The Greek Construction Sector

Research Design and Methods

Milan and Athens