Italy is facing an economical crisis which does definitely not contribute positively to the migrant distress. Reggio Emilia is no exception, regardless of the first good impressions given by the recent high speed railway station and bridges designed by Santiago Calatrava, the overall peaceful atmosphere and the profitable industrial past. Since 2008, a once glorious manufacturing site has become a canvas for street artists and a new home for asylum seekers, whose vanishing hopes for a better future has led some of them into drug addiction and further misery. (selection of six)