Italy has taken in 139,770
migrants so far this year, the Fiori di Acciaio (Steel
Magnolias) Association said Friday.
This is 9% less than the same period in 2014 when the total
reached 170,100, the organization said during its first national
convention titled Immigration and Emigration.
As well, 101,297 Italians emigrated in 2014, up from 94,126
in 2013.
The brunt of migrant arrivals is sustained by the Sicilian
island of Lampedusa, which lies close to Africa and is the first
landfall for asylum seekers sailing to Europe from Libya.
So far 145 boats have landed there so far, bringing a total
of 18,129 migrants to the approximately 20-square-kilometer land
mass.
Second in line for number of arrivals is the port of
Augusta on Sicily's eastern coast, which has seen 113 landings
totaling 18,177 migrants as of September 28.
Sicily also tops the list of regions hosting the most
migrants in its reception centres and other structures, followed
by Lombardy and Lazio.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
