History and Culture
The Rom, a Brief History
A transnational people without a territory: the Rom are 12 million in Europe and 24 million worldwide, present on every continent, bearers of an ancient culture and a history marked by persecution and resilience.
Identity
A Nation Without Territory
The Rom people are a transnational nation without a territory, represented internationally through the International Romani Union (IRU), which has held consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC since February 1979.
The Rom have their own national anthem, “Gelem Gelem” (Walking, Walking), and their own flag: two horizontal bands, blue and green, with a red cart wheel at the center. Blue represents the sky, green represents the earth, and the red wheel represents movement.
The Rom are 12 million in Europe and 24 million worldwide, present on every continent, united by a shared history of migrations, persecutions, and an extraordinary ability to preserve their cultural identity.
The term “Gypsies”, by which they are often improperly called, derives from a sect of heretics known as Athinganos in medieval Greek, a name that over time was erroneously attributed to the entire Rom people.
Self-Designations
Rom
From Sanskrit “Domba” = free man
Sinti
From the Sindh valley
Kalé
From Sanskrit “Kala” = black
Manouches
From Romanì “manush” = man
Romanichals
From romani + chals = children of the Rom
Flag: blue band (sky), green band (earth), red wheel (movement)
The Journey
Origins and the Long Journey
The origins of the Rom people were long shrouded in mystery. Today, linguistic and historical studies concur in identifying their homeland in Northwestern India, in the area corresponding to present-day Pakistan, Punjab, Rajasthan, and the Sindh region.
The linguistic research of Rüdiger, Bryant, Pott, and Miklosich confirmed the affinity between Romanes and the Neo-Indian languages, unequivocally demonstrating the Indian origin of the Rom people.
The long journey that brought them to Europe saw them stay for extended periods in Persia, then cross through Armenia and arrive in the Byzantine Empire, where they remained for a considerable time, absorbing cultural and linguistic influences that can still be found in Romanes today.
They arrived in Western Europe during the 15th century, where they were met with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion that soon turned into open persecution.
The Porrajmos: The Forgotten Genocide
During the Second World War, over 500,000 Rom were massacred by the Nazis and their fascist allies in what is known as the Porrajmos (the Devouring), the genocide of the Rom people, too long ignored and erased from collective historical memory.
This tragic chapter of European history represents one of the most painful pages of the persecution against the Rom people, perpetrated over the centuries in nearly every European country.
In Italy
The Rom in Italy
The presence of the Rom in Italy likely dates back to the 14th–15th century. The first document attesting to their presence in the country dates to Bologna, 18 July 1422.
There were two routes of entry: one group from the North, travelling overland through the Alpine passes, and another from the South, arriving by sea across the Mediterranean.
Persecutions in Italy began from 1493 onwards, with the issuance of numerous edicts against the Rom in nearly all Italian states. A telling example was the condemnation imposed by Pope Pius V, who consigned the Rom to the galleys for the Battle of Lepanto in 1570.
1422
First documentation — Bologna
1493
Start of persecutions
1570
Pope Pius V — Lepanto
1940–45
Porrajmos