Sfollati

Sfollati is an Italian term that designates individuals who are forced to leave their homes while remaining inside the borders of their own country. The word literally means "evacuated people" and is used to describe civilians displaced by armed conflict, violence, or natural or human-made disasters. The displacement can be temporary or long-lasting, and it often involves loss of housing, livelihoods, and social networks.

In Italy's modern history the term is closely associated with World War II, when cities and industrial areas were evacuated to rural areas to reduce casualties from air raids. The process, known as sfollamento, affected hundreds of thousands of people and had lasting demographic and social consequences for both host communities and evacuated families. Similar evacuation movements occurred in other conflicts and disasters before and after the war.

Today the concept aligns with the broader humanitarian category of internally displaced persons (IDPs): people who are displaced within their own country but do not cross international borders. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998) outline minimum protections and rights for IDPs, including access to shelter, food, healthcare, education, and durable solutions such as return, local integration, or resettlement. National authorities and aid organizations coordinate relief and reconstruction efforts to address protection risks and long-term consequences.

See also: Internal displacement, Evacuation, Refugee.