Why do Black tourists encounter racism in Italy?
If you ask Black travelers who’ve visited Italy how their trip went, you’re likely to get some strong, polarizing answers.
On one side, you have the ecstatic travelers who can’t wait to go back to walk the cobbled stone streets and soak up the sun on the Amalfi Coast. And on the other side, you have the travelers who could do without ever setting foot in the entire country ever again.
So, what’s behind such drastically different experiences when it comes to Black travel in Italy?
Amalfi Coast
Italy is one of the most visited and romanticized destinations in the world, drawing nearly 60 million tourists a year with its widely raved-about art, history, fashion, and food. It’s the land of Roman ruins, Tuscan vineyards, and leisurely piazza afternoons. But beneath the postcard charm, the Aperol Spritzes, pastel coastlines, and the ultimate European summer vibes, many visitors have found something much darker: open and subtle racism, often aimed at Black tourists.
Reports range from being followed in shops, randomly yelled at by locals in the streets, or ignored by customer service reps, to being spat on or even mistaken for prostitutes.
And this behavior isn’t exclusive to Black tourists: there have been reports of mistreatment toward other races as well.
One Asian-American woman reported people telling her “Ni Hao” unprovoked three times on her first day in Italy, while another spoke about being airdropped a racist picture from an Italian teenager.
As a Black American who’s grown up seeing Italy as a must-visit destination, hearing reports like these is disheartening, but these experiences also sparked a question: o
How can the same country inspire such joy for some Black people and such alienation for others?
In this article, I’ll explore the realities of traveling while Black in Italy (the bad, the ugly, and the good) along with the history and context that shape these experiences and what they mean for Black travelers.
But first…
Racism is everywhere, so why is Italy being singled out?
It’s not that Italy is the only country where racism exists (far from it). But I think the reason Italy keeps getting brought up in these discussions is because it’s not some remote or insular nation with little exposure to foreigners or tourists. It’s one of the most visited countries on the planet, pulling in tens of millions of tourists every year from every corner of the globe.
That level of global attention comes with an expectation: if you’re a major player in the tourism industry, people assume you’ll be welcoming to (or at least tolerant of) visitors of all races, cultures, and backgrounds.
And compared to other high-traffic European destinations, like the UK, Portugal, or even France and Spain (which have their own issues but often score higher in the eyes of many Black travelers), Italy’s reputation is…well, not as glowing.
The Bad…
For some travelers, racism in Italy doesn’t always look like shouting in the streets; it’s the smaller, constant things that wear you down.
An Afro-Italian on Reddit put it plainly: “It’s not actually that bad. But be ready for a lot of ignorance and judgment”—at least in Northern Italy, where she says she’s seen it most.
Others have found that ignorance turns into something more pointed. Ryan Jackson, a Black man who lived in Italy in the early 2000s, recalled on X, “Northern Italy was the most racist (cities like Brescia, Milan, Verona, Trieste). It was so bad that Northern Italians looked down on Southern Italians because of their complexion and the kinkiness of their hair.”
This mindset has roots in Italy’s long-standing north-south divide. Northern regions like Milan and Verona became wealthier and more industrialized, while the south remained more rural and economically disadvantaged.
Over time, this fueled stereotypes of southerners as poor, uneducated, and even physically “different”, with darker skin tones and curlier hair often tied to historical Arab and African influences. That mix of classism and colorism created a hierarchy where whiteness and northern identity were idealized.
Language can be a shield, though. Locals tend to appreciate tourists and immigrants being able to speak their language, even if they simply attempt to.
One Black woman on Reddit admitted she was “treated poorly at first,” until she started speaking Spanish and pretended not to know English. Then people were nicer.
Another traveler advised that “the more Italian you learn, the less likely you’ll see micro (or macro!) aggressions,” though she still called Italy the place where she’d “easily experienced the most overt racism”, explaining that her experience was worse in the cities and touristy areas.
Some experiences even feel gendered. A Black man who goes by @big1500.dailyvlog on TikTok shared that he feels, “the men don't like the black men out here. The women don't seem to have an issue too much. I see them staring at me all day, but that white man…that white man is not staring at me at all.”
He described asking for transit help only to be brushed off with vague directions, right after watching staff give detailed instructions to someone else.
And then there are the moments that leave no room for doubt. @worldlyroxi on TikTok recalled being followed through a small grocery store in Rome, shadowed from aisle to aisle “to make sure I didn’t steal something” even though there were dozens of other shoppers.
She said the coldness started the second she landed at the airport. She had pre-booked transportation, but while other “palm-colored” customers “were helped immediately”, she was told to “wait over there” and ignored. “The issue was not that they didn’t speak any English,” she said. “It’s that they didn’t want to talk to me.”
The Ugly…
Unfortunately, for some Black travelers, the racism in Italy isn’t subtle, or just a “bad vibe.” It’s loud, aggressive, degrading, and, in some cases, quite traumatic.
One Black woman shared on X that when she visited Italy as a 16-year-old exchange student, adults assumed she was a sex worker. “They thought I was a prostitute at 16 years old,” she said, and she wasn’t alone in experiencing this kind of hypersexualization.
Another female traveler responded: “Fr cause the hypersexualisation and the racism over there are wild: Grandpas trying to holla. People groping me on the crowded bus. Ole lady saying I should go back to Africa. Very disgusting experience.”
For others, it’s not just isolated moments but a constant stream of hostility that builds quickly.
@faeiryne on TikTok
A young woman named Artemis (who goes by @faeiryne on TikTok) shared a loaded story from her first day in Italy, during which multiple racist incidents happened back-to-back.
One of the first was a woman with a stroller who yanked her child away from Artemis on a train platform, looking at her “like I was about to harm her child.” Artemis apologized anyway, but “the look of absolute disgust in [the Italian woman’s] face spoke a million words,” she said.
The pattern didn’t stop there. Staff honked at her while ignoring large groups of white tourists. A man at the Colosseum “tutted” at her and her friends like they were dogs before yelling at them to move.
Security guards at the subway approached her white friend to offer help, and completely ignored Artemis. And when that same friend dropped a phone under a train, a worker crawled under to retrieve it.
“Seeing the stark difference between the way my white friends who I’m traveling with are treated and the way that I’m treated is like, whoa. I literally feel like this is worse than America,” she said. “This all happened within a four or five-hour period.”
She ended the video saying she was ready to go home. “This place is a complete shithole.”
Another user on Reddit described being openly rejected in public spaces—like a hospital waiting room, where a white woman refused to sit next to her and said out loud, “she could never.”
She also recalled an experience where a man stared at her “with so much venom” in an ice cream shop, just for touching the self-serve spoon. His family then continued to stare her and her mom down the entire time they ate.
She’s also received threatening notes on her car, warning her to move or the police would be called, while white locals parked in the same spot without issue.
After all of these situations, she could only come to one conclusion: “It is pretty racist. No two ways about it. But girl, live your life :). I still had fun with my friends and did things. I go there every summer to visit my people. That being said, I would never live there. Not my vibe, too racist, too many people quick to insult you in Italian, zero jobs available for Black people, and just plain weird.”
Italy’s history with Black people
For a lot of Black tourists today, a trip to Italy might come with uncomfortable stares, tone-deaf comments, or the occasional unsettling interaction. But for many Black migrants and Italians of African descent, that’s just scratching the surface.
TikTok creator @economyvodka, a Black American woman, described what she noticed when she visited Italy solo in 2019:
“I went to four cities. So it was just very apparent to me whenever I saw a Black person, they were almost never in a position of power. You could tell they weren’t well integrated into the society. It was obvious the minute I stepped into the country, and it didn’t change in any of the cities I went to.”
Sadly, this lack of inclusion often goes hand-in-hand with mistreatment and violence.
In 2022, a Nigerian man named Alika Ogorchukwu was beaten to death in broad daylight in Civitanova Marche. He had been selling handkerchiefs when he was attacked by a man who chased him down and assaulted him in front of bystanders.
Ogorchukwu used a crutch to get around due to a previous accident, and video footage of the attack shows people standing nearby but doing nothing to intervene.
A few years earlier, in 2016, another Nigerian man, Emmanuel Chidi Namdi, was killed in the town of Fermo after he tried to defend his wife from racist insults and abuse.
There are quieter but no less disturbing stories, too, like that of Beauty Davis, a young Nigerian woman who was allegedly slapped after asking for her paycheck while working as a dishwasher in southern Italy.
Over the past couple of decades, Italy has become a major entry point for migrants coming from Africa. But Italy’s relationship with Black people has deep, complicated roots.
Photo credit: Al Jazeera - Italian police approaching African refugees and migrants
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Italy colonized Eritrea, Somalia, Libya, and later Ethiopia. Mussolini’s fascist regime brought an especially brutal chapter with the invasion of Ethiopia, marked by chemical weapons and mass killings. Propaganda from that era painted Black Africans as inferior, and those racist ideas spread widely.
But Italy has done little to acknowledge or teach this history, leaving many Italians today with little awareness of their country’s role in the oppression of Black people.
Many Italians, like much of Europe, still think racism is more of a problem “elsewhere” or something that hyper-sensitive Americans dwell too much on.
As Italian-Eritrean filmmaker Ariam Tekle told the BBC:
“They always say it’s ‘ignorance’ or something else,” she said. “They don’t want to admit there is racism in Italy. They always say America or the UK is worse.”
The impact is personal and long-lasting for those who grow up in it.
TikToker @economyvodka said the stories she’s heard from her Black Italian friend and a Black Italian student she teaches English to were some of the most disturbing things she’s ever come across. They recounted instances of being called the N-word by teachers and classmates, or realizing that no matter how educated they are, their job prospects will never match those of white Italians.
“One of them goes to school in Scandinavia, and she mentioned that she cannot go back to Italy. She cannot go there because the possibilities for her life and her trajectory in life would automatically decrease and deplete, doesn't matter how much education she has.”
She added:
“And that's why whenever I see these conversations around Italy and how much Americans over romanticize this country, I have to roll my eyes. Yeah, it's great for a very small amount of people. It's great if you're white, it's great if you're a white Italian, and it's great if you have money.”
Even some white Italians agree.
“I’m white, but Italian. Yeah, no… it’s pretty racist,” one user on X admitted. “Especially because the majority of the population is over 44 years old. The younger generations are pretty normal and open though.” — @hy_Jail on X
There’s a tendency to treat racism in Italy as something soft or subtle, as if just a bit of ignorance that doesn’t do real harm. But for many Black people living there, it’s not a misunderstanding. It’s a reality that shapes safety, opportunities, and their place in the country they call home.
The Good…
Despite the horror stories, not every Black traveler has a negative experience in Italy. In fact, some have had the complete opposite.
TikToker @heyitsmariya shared her favorable experience traveling through three Italian cities, including Venice and Rome. “If you needed a sign to go and explore the world yourself and not let the internet tell you where to go or not to go, please let this be it,” she said.
She acknowledged that no city is perfect and noted that traveling with a group can make a difference, but overall? “I absolutely love it. I’ve had the time of my life.”
TikToker @beingchristinajane
Another solo traveler, @beingchristinajane, admitted she felt nervous before the trip after seeing so many negative stories online. But her actual experience in Rome and Florence was, in her words, “beautiful.”
She said she didn’t face any overt racism, and while she did get stares, they felt more like “admiration and curiosity” than anything hostile.
“I actually found the people to be kind and welcoming for the most part,” she said. “At the end of the day, Black travelers deserve to take up space too, so be sure to get out there and craft your own experience.”
Nurse and content creator @thekendra_rn also shared a mostly positive account. From getting help with her oversized suitcase on the train to mingling with locals in Tuscany, she described the people as “very nice” and “very kind.”
Her only complaint? The service industry folks seemed a little impatient, but not in a racist way. “They’re usually a little bit agitated if you’re asking a bunch of questions,” she said with a laugh. “Other than that, I had no issue.”
For @shanellethebelle, the most-asked question she got about her Italy trip was: What’s it like being a Black woman traveling there?
And she understood why: “You know we don’t have the luxury of just getting up and going somewhere without doing some research first,” she said. But her experience in Milan and Venice was smooth: “We didn’t experience any racism. If we did, it was not apparent.”
The only tension she felt came from being a tourist, not from being Black: “Kind of like how New Yorkers get annoyed when you walk too slow,” she joked.
She loved Venice so much that she compared the feeling to her first trip to New York. “I would actually move to Venice,” she said. “The food was amazing. The people were so friendly. I saw more Black people in Venice than in Milan, and that made me feel more comfortable.”
By the end of her trip, she was already thinking about going back, and was even inspired to start learning Italian.
So, while there are travelers who report negative or even traumatic encounters in Italy, there are plenty of others who find beauty, kindness, and joy. As with so many travel experiences, the reality is nuanced, and the spectrum of experiences is valid.
Why do some Black people have great experiences in Italy while others don’t?
If you’re still considering visiting Italy, this is the big question. Because at this point, many Black travelers don’t know how to navigate the extreme range of experiences. However, some people have offered up potential explanations as to why a certain Black person might experience racism in Italy while another might have the time of their lives.
But remember: these are pretty much all theories—some may have credence while others are more uncertain.
Racism towards Africans vs Black Westerners
It’s a common sentiment and observation throughout Europe that Black westerners, primarily those from English-speaking countries like the United States, Canada, and the UK, face less overt racism compared to Black Africans, Caribbeans, and other diasporans. Some Black tourists would say this is especially true in Italy.
“Lineal Black Americans don't have these types of issues in most of Europe,” @SAINTDAUN wrote on X, “because, believe it or not, Europeans know the difference between us & Africans. I spent a week in Roma @ Hotel Mediterraneo and didn't have a single interaction beyond stares, smiles, and stellar greetings.”
Others echoed the idea that a Western passport acts like a kind of social shield.
“Tbh I think if you’re from the US you will be fine. You have the Western passport privilege. A black African experience in Europe especially Italy would be different from a black American or Canadian.”
– @Ok_Ice621
Another Redditor put it simply:
“Black Americans get treated much better than Black people coming from the Caribbean or even Africa, from what I've heard from friends and family living [in Italy].”
– @nerdKween on Reddit
Italian locals and even authorities often associate Black people from the U.S., U.K., or Canada with tourism, money, and “modern” culture, versus Black Africans, who are often tied (in the European imagination) to immigration, poverty, or sex trafficking.
But this isn’t just about perception. Trafficking of African women and general anti-immigrant sentiment make Africans especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation. In Italy, the reality of African refugees arriving in high numbers exacerbates racist attitudes tied to nationalistic and xenophobic fears.
“African women are treated the worst because the sex/human trafficking of West Af women and girls been an epidemic since the 80s.”
– @jenny_gxo on X
This divide shows how racism in Italy is often classist and xenophobic at its core, not just color-based. Being Black doesn’t always trigger the same response. How “Black” you’re perceived to be (and from where) affects how you’re treated.
Class and the perception of wealth are primary factors for determining how one is treated anywhere in the world. As many people noticed, those who were from Western countries, such as the United States, Canada, or the UK, were sometimes treated better than African and Caribbean immigrants. So one’s accent may play a role. But how about the Black Westerners who still experienced mistreatment?
Is it possible that they were perceived as lower-class based on their looks, before they could even open their mouths, simply because they appeared to be from Africa? Italy and many places in Europe are well known for their fashion sense, so does this mean that you need to wear a nice dress, have your hair done a certain way, or look overall conventionally attractive (or wealthy) to be treated like a human being in Italy?
Maybe, but it’s very unfortunate if that’s the case.
So yes, a Western identity, especially an American one, can offer a layer of protection. But that doesn’t mean Black Westerners are immune to racism in Italy. It just often looks different.
Colorism Plays a Role
Unsurprisingly, skin tone can influence how people are treated, too. This also aligns with the idea of how much one is perceived as more or less African.
One user on Reddit said her trip through multiple Italian cities was smooth, no racism at all. But her sister? Totally different story.
“My sister said she hated her experience in Milan, and felt it was very racist. For what it’s worth, my skin color is similar to Rihanna’s; her skin tone is like Quinta Brunson’s.”
– @PringlePasta on Reddit
She went on to affirm that while her own experience was positive, colorism is very real—and can absolutely affect how you're perceived and treated in public spaces.
“I had a friend who is darker than me who went to Italy and she said she felt Italy was racist and I believe her experience fully too. Colorism is real.”
Still, this isn't always consistent. Even lighter-skinned travelers have shared accounts of blatant racism, making it clear that colorism may influence, but doesn’t entirely prevent negative treatment.
Black women more likely to face issues going solo
Something else that stood out: many of the positive reviews came from people traveling with a partner, especially with a white man.
“When I went, I spent two weeks in Rome with my white SO and had zero issues.”
– @justtookadnatest on Reddit
@ZetaWMo4 on Reddit had a similar experience, although she didn’t share the race of her spouse.
“My husband and I go to Italy almost every other year and we’ve never had any issues. The people are always nice and friendly.”
But when traveling solo, some Black women noticed a stark contrast.
“My experience traveling around Italy solo by myself was so much more different than when I traveled to Italy with my white Hungarian European partner being a black solo female traveler in Italy. It is like you are a piece of meat in that country. Whereas of course I'm with the tall, handsome white man, nobody's saying shit to me.”
– @economyvodka on TikTok
When accompanied by a male partner, especially a white one, Black women are often treated with more respect, likely due to assumptions of shared status, money, or “legitimacy”.
This suggests a social hierarchy of protection. Being visibly connected to whiteness or masculinity seems to lessen vulnerability to racism and sexism.
If you’re familiar with racial relations in America, this isn’t much of a surprise. The intersectional hierarchy between race and gender in the US is something every Black woman is forced to reckon with, often from a young age.
Still, it’s also quite apparent throughout the rest of the world, whether others who benefit from that hierarchy are willing to admit it or not.
Being more outspoken
One of the more controversial theories out there is that how you respond to racism, or even just rudeness, can influence how far it goes.
A few travelers noted that being outspoken, assertive, and visibly not African (through speech or behavior) shifted how locals treated them.
“I will never forget walking down the street in Rome and a guy...yelled, ‘Africana, go back to Africa!’. I yell, ‘Bitch I’m from Detroit!!’”
– @knowledge4us2 on X
Another young man shared how an aggressive interaction turned 180 once he revealed his American identity and pushed back:
“I'm in a club in Italy walking inside of an elevator. As soon as I step inside, this promoter…puts her full palm on my chest and stiff arms my Black ass outside [the elevator]. A thing that a lot of people don't realize is that Africans in most European countries are treated like shit. But the thing that she didn't realize was, although I am African, I'm also American. So I did what any American would do and I put my foot on the elevator, open that bitch up and walk right in front of her...and I began to cuss her out. As soon as they heard that accent, that American accent, shit flips…everybody started talking about, ‘That [racist behavior is] not Italia! That’s not Italia!’ I felt like Rosa Parks in that bitch.”
@Daizy2021 on X explained her view:
“Here's the thing. You can't be timid and an ass kisser. Imagine going to New York and being offended at the rude people. Nah. Give as good as you get. They are assholes to everyone including natives. I don't understand not speaking up for yourself then saying racism.”
There’s a grain of truth here: being outspoken can shift the tone. And for many Black Americans, that confidence is tied to cultural norms around self-advocacy and the power of being from a globally influential country.
But this line of thinking also comes dangerously close to oversimplifying the reality.
First, it ignores the documented reality that some Black people have stood up for themselves in Italy and paid a steep price for it. Chidi Namdi was beaten to death for defending his wife. Beauty Davis was slapped just for asking to be paid. Neither of them were passive. Neither kept quiet. And both were met with violence anyway.
What this suggests is that “being bold” mostly works when a person is backed by a passport and a power structure that demands respect. Many Black Americans, including myself, who visit Europe are there as tourists or “expats” (which is honestly just what Western immigrants call themselves). We come from a country that carries political, economic, and cultural influence globally. And whether consciously or not, locals often respond to that.
Many Black Africans or Caribbeans who come to Italy don’t have the same luxury. They may have come as refugees or they’re being exploited for labor as underpaid second-class residents, so they feel more like guests who can’t rock the boat as much because that could attract trouble, and attracting trouble could mean being deported, or even losing their lives.
If something tragic happens to an American abroad, it tends to make global headlines. US citizenship carries enough weight to spark media coverage, diplomatic pressure, and sometimes even direct intervention. But when that same thing happens to someone from an African nation or the Caribbean, it’s often met with indifference or inaction. Their governments may lack the political influence or global media reach to demand accountability, and in many cases, the world simply shrugs.
This is why Italians sometimes backpedal when they realize someone is American. The accent alone signals: this person comes from a country I admire and respect, or at least fear the consequences of mistreating.
It’s not just that some locals act racist or rude until they hear an American accent—it’s that they’re hostile to the type of Blackness they associate with poverty, migration, and threat. When they hear you’re American, you suddenly shift into a different social category.
Also, “being bold” might appear to work in the moment (as in @xeviuniverse’s elevator situation and in many of the other outspoken examples people gave), but that doesn’t mean racism didn’t happen.
Sometimes what we interpret as a “win” is actually just a social performance of de-escalation, not a resolution of injustice. Being American didn’t initially protect them from racism in the same way simply being white would, which is why we still hear so many stories of Black Americans talking about mistreatment. Being a Westerner just helped them better defuse the mistreatment.
So, should you still visit Italy as a Black person?
For starters, I think it would be a gross oversimplification to conclude that the key to having a good Italian vacation as a Black person is to be a light-skinned Westerner with a smart mouth and a white partner. Having these traits could help you avoid some racist encounters, but they also may not.
I won’t say that you should or shouldn’t visit Italy as a Black traveler, but I do hope that hearing both the good and the bad has helped you understand why Black people have the experiences they do in Italy, and helped you make a decision for yourself.
Some have suggested writing off Italy, Europe, and any place that is unfriendly toward Black people altogether, in exchange for visiting more Black-friendly destinations exclusively or primarily.
For others, claiming joy and curiosity in a space that hasn’t always been welcoming is an act of resistance in itself. And lastly, some folks just want to live their lives and see every inch that this beautiful world has to offer, regardless of what anyone thinks.
All of these are valid stances, so you need to decide for yourself where you fit in.
Plus, the more we continue to speak up, share stories, and take up space anyway, the harder it becomes for our stories to be ignored (that’s part of why I created this blog in the first place).
Wherever you decide to go, know this: You deserve to take up space. You deserve to feel safe on your travels. You deserve to travel with curiosity, joy, and confidence. And you deserve to define your own experience.
