Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, vol. VI, no. 11-12, 2011, pp. 93-104 THE SOCIAL-ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF THE IMMIGRANTS IN SICILY Maria SORBELLO  * Associate Professor of Cultural geography, University of Catania, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, Department of Humanistic Sciences, Piazza Dante, No. 32, 95124, Italy e-mail: sorbello@unict.it Abstract: The social-economic integration of the immigrants in Sicily. Sicily, a traditional geophysical bridge between the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, became after the world energy crisis of 1973 the ground for final acceptance by people coming not only from Africa but also from southern and eastern Asia. The current war in Libya and the serious economic, political and environmental crises in the countries of the Maghreb, the Horn of Africa and sub-Saharan Africa finally are feeding huge migratory flows pouring into the island. Sicily became not only the first stop for the boat people of the Mediterranean Sea, but also the permanent venue for many of them. By the analysis of some indicators relating to the working activities and the level of integration of the old and new immigrants it will be finally possible to reliably anticipate the main characters of the future multicultural framework of Sicily. Rezumat: Integrarea social-economca a imigranţilor în Sicilia. Sicilia, pod tradiţional între ţărmul sudic al Mării Mediterane şi Europa, a devenit după criza energetică mondială din 1973 locul care a acceptat populaţia care a emigrat pe insulă nu numai din Africa ci şi din sudul şi estul Asiei. Războiul din Libia şi criza economică din statele Maghrebului, regiunea costieră a Africii şi zona sub-sahariană hrănesc fluxurile migratorii spre Sicilia. Insula nu devine doar un prim popas pentru populaţiile alogene ci mai mult decât atât, rămâne un spaţiu geografic în care acestea se stabilesc definitiv. Prin filtrul analizei unor indicatori legaţi de activităţile şi specificul forţei de muncă, precum şi de nivelul de integrare al imigranţilor este posibil să anticipăm principalele caracteristici ale viitor ului context multicultural al Siciliei.