Abstract

The article illustrates a case study about of the Kerala Indian community living in the city of Macerata - a small, closely related group of fervent Roman Catholics, composed of forty-eight adults, all working in domes-tic service. The article explores the group's migratory chains and its members' insertion in the new context. Special attention is devoted to the conditions that favour the employment of these immigrants, both men and women in the sector of domestic services and care, drawing on litera-ture concerning the Italian, family-based, welfare system. The research, based on 114 in-depth interviews and participant observation, also exam-ines the social relations between Kerala's resident and receiving society's members.