The history of Mediterranean societies is a crossroads of exchange within the basin. Until the second half of the 20th century we can observe that migratory flows are mainly North-South, as Europeans had been a people of emigration since the great discoveries. The 1960s represents the turning point when Europe became a big centre of immigration, as people from the Southern shore dreamt of better jobs and a better life on the North shore. Due to restrictive laws on immigration, smuggling flourished, and nowadays it is a large-scale phenomenon that concerns both shores, and is boosted by world economic inequities.