Persone senza dimora : tra politiche di intervento e semiotiche dell'esclusione

The article proposes an interpretation of homelessness from the perspective of social semiotics, starting from the strong link between the homeless and the surrounding urban environment. In the first section, the authors reconstruct the appearance of the phenomenon in Europe and the US, identifying the links be-twwen physical environment and cultural background. In the second section, they recount a research experience conducted in the Messina train station, where the presence of homeless people not only is taken on by social intervention, but also refers to the peculiar role of the station in the complex urban landscape. [Publisher's text].