THE INTEGRATION AND IDENTITY OF THE ROMANIAN COMMUNITY IN FLORENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF LIFE IN THE DIASPORA

Denisa Ramona Chasciar^1*Chasciar Vasile²Claudiu Coman³Ovidiu Florin Toderici¹Ioțu Cristel Vasile²Adrian Otovescu²Roxana Shields³

• ¹Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Arad, Romania
• ²University of Craiova, Craiova, Romania
• ³Transilvania University of Brasov, Brașov, Romania

This article analyzes how members of the Romanian community in the city of Florence, Italy, build their cultural identity and integrate into the host society, in the context of life in the diaspora. The purpose of the research is to capture the subjective perceptions of Romanians on social integration and the preservation of national identity, corroborated with the perspective of Italian citizens. The study uses a mixed methodology: the quantitative component is based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 330 Romanians, and the qualitative component consists of 30 semi-structured interviews with Italian citizens. The results show a more stable economic than social integration, influenced by length of stay, employment status and social networks. At the same time, cultural identity is constantly negotiated between belonging to the culture of origin and adapting to Italian values. The study stresses the need for coherent integration policies and mutual intercultural openness.