This contributed volume analyzes in depth how a border area is constantly reshaped as migration policies harden, and what kind of social, political and economic impacts are produced at local and international level. The study is focused on Ventimiglia, an Italian town located 6 km away from the French-Italian border on the gulf of Genoa with a long story of commerce, custom and smuggling activities related to its proximity to the frontier. While several projects have analyzed other symbolic places of the EU migration crisis such as Lampedusa, Calais and Lesvos, there is a severe empirical gap regarding Ventimiglia, a border town at the very geographic core of the Schengen area. This case study may provide emblematic insights into what European migratory movements are currently revealing in terms of the lack of shared responsibility between EU Member States, the EU common asylum system and respect for human rights, with increasing claims for national sovereignty by some Member States.

Livio Amigoni is a PhD Candidate in the Social Sciences at the University Genoa, Italy.

Silvia Aru is an Assistant Professor of Political and Economic Geography at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

 Ivan Bonnin is a PhD Candidate in European Studies at Roma Tre University, Italy. 

Gabriele Proglio is an Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Italy. 

Cecilia Vergnano is Marie Slodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Sciences Research, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.