Abstract: This chapter applies a decolonial frame to the study of racism in the Italian-Australian context. The first part provides a historical outline of Australian racist and xenophobic attitudes, policies, and practices against Italians. The second part analyses the strategies these migrants employed in response to such prejudice; it highlights, in particular, Italian migrants’ constant attempts to be recognised as white and respectable, often to the detriment of other, darker, and more subaltern groups. The third part of the chapter argues for the importance of a decolonial approach to the study of Italian migration history. This section emphasises the Italian role in the dispossession of First Nations’ land and the persisting prejudice against Indigenous people, while also drawing attention to the many positive relationships between Italians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
