Piccolo è bello? : governare l'immigrazione nei piccoli comuni lombardi

The article investigates, through three case studies, the relationships between the third sector and public authorities, reflecting on the possible implications of the small size of these municipalities for the government of immigration at the local level. The three cases inquired - Breno, a mountain village; Sermide, a rural municipality; Mortara, a town located at the edge of the great Milanese conurbation - reveal how some features commonly detected in small municipalities (such as the small number of actors, the relative ease of access to decision makers, the "mixture" between politics and administration) can determine very different outcomes in terms of immigration governance, depending on specific associational ecologies and local governments' orientations.