A Gypsy woman, living in an illegal encampment in Milan, has threatened the life of Imterior Minister Matteo Salvini, saying "he should get a bullet". Salvini, who minces no words, replied accordingly. Naturally, he is being excoriated on the left.
For non-Italian speakers, the word for Gypsy, be they Roma or Sinti, is "Zingaro (a) depending on whether they are male or female. The suffix -accia has a variety of meanings. It is most closely translated as "nasty" when attached to a noun. The term, "poveraccia" translates as poor thing or poor person, "povero" being poor. Generally, the suffix -accia attaches a negative (like "nasty") connotation to the noun. Thus, the closest translation, which is being used by other publications in their translation of Salvini's comments, is "nasty Gypsy (woman)".
Salvini also advises the woman to expect the bulldozer. He has previously called for the bulldozing of Gypsy camps in Italy.
For those not familiar with the Gypsy population in Italy and other Euroepan countries, they tend to be nomadic tribes who set up trailer encampments on empty land in and around cities. Those camps are not places you would want to enter. Not only do they represent a blight, they would not be safe to outsiders. Generally, Gypsies do not assimilate with the surrounding populations and make their living by begging, stealing, or petty crimes. When we lived in Milan from 1982-1987, I was familiar with the Gypsy camps and their activities. Nursery schools (including our children's) would go on lockdown when Gypsies were spotted in the area for fear children might be stolen. We learned ourselves this was not an exaggerated threat. One day, one of the wives of an American Consulate employee, who we knew very well, was at an open market with her months-old baby in a stroller. She had just finished paying for an item when she turned around and saw that her son and the stroller were gone. Fortunately, she saw him down the road being wheeled away by a Gypsy woman and was able to rescue her son.
Perhaps, that will add some context to Salvini's comments.
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