The city of Naples is commonly represented as a place of contact and exchange between the northern and the southern regions of the Mediterranean. Such a representation of Naples as an ‘in-between' place is problematic, as the case of migration flows to the city shows. Naples can be regarded as a space of transition and interaction between the EU and the multiple South(s) of the world. However, this particular role is not exclusively connected to the city's cosmopolitan historical background or to its specific geographic location. This role of the city as an ‘interface' place has to be critically reconsidered, particularly in light of the ongoing globalisation of migratory flows and the differentiation of migrants' profiles and trajectories. On the basis of such changes, it can be argued that Naples is becoming a laboratory of emerging forms of international migration. Cross-border traders seek to take advantage of the interface location of the city, especially benefiting from the price and taxation differentials. However, this leads to a reconfiguration of the spatial positionality of the city and the shaping of a new ‘centrality'.
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