Italy – COI

Click here to see the host countries of refugees originating from Italy.

Dr. Francesca Conti

Email: francescaconti.uk@gmail.com

Francesca Conti is a lecturer at both The American University of Rome and John Cabot University. She teaches a broad range of courses within the social sciences, from cultural anthropology to sociology. Her research focuses on different aspects of emigration and immigration to and from Italy. She carries on extensive fieldwork in Italy and she provides insights and analysis on many different aspects of migration for both public and private institutions, including the Istituto San Pio V and the Centro Studi Emigrazione. Francesca’s expertise is mostly in the area of motivations to migrate from Italy and the experience of integration and challenges faced by migrants in the city of Rome. She is willing to advise legal representatives about migration in contemporary Italy.

Dr. Silvia Scarpa

Email: sscarpa@johncabot.edu

Dr Silvia Scarpa is prepared to serve as a Country of Origin specialist for lawyers representing  persons seeking asylum from Italy. She holds a Ph.D. cum laude in Political Science with a specialization in International Human Rights Law awarded by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa (Italy). She works as Adjunct Professor of Political Science at John Cabot University teaching courses on human trafficking, human rights and international organizations and as Adjunct Professor of International Law at LUISS Guido Carli University. Her academic specialties include international law, human rights, human trafficking and contemporary slavery, and international migration and refugee law. Dr Scarpa worked as consultant for various Italian and European institutions, including inter alia: the Italian Office against Racial Discrimination of the Department of Equal Opportunities and the European Commission.

Dr. James Schwarten

Email: jschwarten@johncabot.edu

Dr. Schwarten, Lecturer, John Cabot University and CEA, Rome, teaches courses ranging from sociology to Italian literature. His academic interests include Italian organized crime, sociology, anthropology, and literature. He has taught at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, IES (Rome), and Loyola University Chicago’s Rome Center. Dr. Schwarten attended The University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a PhD in Italian. Having taught in Italy for over 20 years, he is prepared to consider writing COI expert statements on behalf of an Italian asylum seeker. 

For more information about Italy, please see the Asylum Information Database.