FÅME is the collection that brings to the table the stark and unappetizing reality of those in Italy who live beyond the poverty line, where even a daily meal becomes a luxury. The writings, inspired by real alms signs, recall with irony but also with gravity the paradox of a society in which hunger is not only a question of lack of food, but of social injustice. An invitation to reflect on a reality that cannot be ignored.
30,00 €
No money, no honey.
In January 2025, it was estimated that over 5 million Italians live in poverty. An alarming figure, which forces us to deal with a phenomenon that affects especially young people, women, families with children and the South of the country. But if on the one hand there are more and more “new poor” – people who have a job, home and family, but cannot make it to the end of the month – on the other hand the Scrooges are increasing and poverty is becoming more and more rooted, so much so that it affects one in four Italians.
The causes of poverty are multiple and systemic. The loss of a job, the inability to keep a home, inflation that especially bites the weakest groups, and wage stagnation that increasingly impoverishes those who work. The government, however, does not seem to have a clear vision of combating poverty. Welfare policies are ineffective and the Citizenship Income, now replaced by the Inclusion Allowance, has reduced the number of beneficiaries and its effectiveness. And while we talk about policies to incentivize employment, we continue to leave room for precariousness, fixed-term contracts and underemployment, with young people and women still the most affected.
Then there is a question that concerns us all: the attitude towards the poor. Poverty is no longer a phenomenon to be addressed with social and human policies, but something annoying, to be removed from sight. The beggar becomes a problem to be repressed, with fines and bans for those who ask for alms. And so, people in difficulty are criminalized, labeled as “illegal”, while the city is painted as a place without misery, but full of hidden poverty.
The solutions? We need courageous policies, but above all, the awareness that poverty is not a crime to be punished, but a condition to be fought with concrete actions. It is time to face reality and stop ignoring it, otherwise the paradox of Italy wasting food and getting rich while millions suffer from hunger will only grow.
