<div>Introduction</div><div>Part I: Historical reading of Ventimiglia as a border town</div><div>Chapter 2: The path of hope. Illegal border crossing in the last century (1861-2019), Gabriele Proglio</div><div>2.1. Introduction</div><div>2.2. Stories of border crossings</div><div>2.3. Stories, subjectivities, and the archive</div><div>2.4. References</div><div>Chapter 3: The Franco-Italian border at Menton-Ventimiglia: a perennial place of conflict, brotherhood, and media coverage, Sandro Rinauro</div><div>3.1. Introduction </div><div>3.2. Between national and Niçois identities, events at the border up to 1860</div><div>3.3. The delicate integration of the county of Nice with France and the protracted identity dispute</div><div>3.4. Intensifying cross-border communications and military litigation at the border</div><div>3.5. The migratory flow amid hostility and hospitality </div><div>3.6. Border mediatisation: from the strengthening of national identity to the exorcising of conflict</div><div>3.7. References</div><div>Chapter 4: The Maritime Alps migration chains: from traditional transalpine mobility to international migration, Marina Marengo</div><div>4.1. Introduction</div><div>4.2. “MaConGranPenaLeReCaGiù”: matters of “Alpine” semantics</div><div>4.3. The Maritime Alps: archetype of frontier lands</div><div>4.4. Traditional Economic Activities: a model focused on mobility and circular migration</div><div>4.5. From Circular Mobility to Internal and International Migration</div><div>4.6. Conclusions: questions of thresholds, doors, and ubiquitous liminality</div><div>4.7. References</div><div>Part II: Borderland infrastructures</div><div>Chapter 5: The infrastructure environment of the Ventimiglia borderland and underground border crossings, Ivan Bonnin </div><div>5.1. Introduction</div><div>5.2. Non-human agency </div><div>5.3. The infrastructure environment channels migratory flow</div><div>5.4. Infrastructural opportunities for underground border crossings</div><div>5.5. Conclusion</div><div>5.6. References </div><div>Chapter 6: The moral economy of a transit camp. Life and control on the Italian-French border, Marta Menghi </div><div>6.1. Introduction </div><div>6.2 A laboratory</div><div>6.3. Circular government</div><div>6.4. Dealing with life</div><div>6.5. Conclusion</div><div>6.6. References</div><div>Chapter 7: The irregular border. Theory and praxis the border of Ventimiglia in the Schengen age, Giacomo Donadio </div><div>7.1. Introduction </div><div>7.2. The reintroduction of border control in the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) 4 and French legislation on identity checks</div><div>7.3. Bilateral agreements on police cooperation and the readmission of “irregulars”</div><div>7.4. The refus d’entrée (refusal of entry)</div><div>7.5. Conclusions</div><div>7.6. References </div><div>Part III: Social actors on the ground</div><div>Chapter 8: Smugglers and smuggled migrants: amid Sudanese passeurs in the border regime of Ventimiglia, Livio Amigoni, Chiara Molinero, Cecilia Vergnano </div><div>8.1. Introduction</div><div>8.2. Methodology</div>8.3. Theories on smuggling<div>8.4. Controls and border-crossing strategies in Ventimiglia</div><div>8.5. The heterogeneous cosmos of passeur</div><div>8.6. Price and reputation in the smuggling business</div><div>8.7. Shabab on the river. Among Sudanese smugglers and the surrounding community</div><div>8.8. The “Sudanese Conscience”</div><div>8.9. Contentious visions on freedom of movement</div><div>8.10. Conclusions</div><div>8.11. References</div><div>Chapter 9: Migrants at stake. Agency and autonomy in Ventimiglia, Silvia Aru </div><div>9.1. Introduction </div><div>9.2. Close to the border control: tactics and counter-conducts</div><div>9.3. A geography of good and bad countries: journeys to Ventimiglia and beyond</div><div>9.4. Control of spaces / action of bodies:</div><div>9.5. ‘Do you want to return home?’ </div><div>9.6. Conclusions</div><div>9.7. References </div><div>Chapter 10: Opportunities and obstacles in (un)politicizing a European border, Daniela Trucco </div><div>10.1. Introduction</div><div>10.2. Mobilizing against borders and/or in solidarity with migrants</div><div>10.3. An interactional approach to (de)politicization</div><div>10.4. Ventimiglia’s space of solidarity</div><div>10.5. The ‘No Border’ galaxy: continuity and evolutions in action repertoires</div><div>10.6. ‘No Border’ camps and the foundational experience of the Presidio</div><div>10.7. Going beyond camps: the second wave of ‘No Border’ collectives</div><div>10.8. A plural ‘local’ civil society and the hegemonic position of the local Catholic Church</div><div>10.9. The ‘sheltering experience’ in the Sant’Antonio church</div><div>10.10. Depoliticizing activism, politicizing humanitarianism?</div><div>10.11. Conclusions</div><div>10.12. References </div><div>Chapter 11: Crimes of solidarity. The battlefield of the Roja Valley, Luca Giliberti </div><div>11.1. A valley crossed by the border</div><div>11.2. Practices of hospitality and transit support</div><div>11.3. Endogenous solidarity for a territorial struggle</div><div>11.4. References</div><div>Chapter 12: On the French-Italian border. Guards’ visions in the landscape, Francesco Migliaccio</div><div><br></div>