Pope Benedict XVI has called on Italians to respect the rights of illegal migrants.
There has been a wave of violence against African farm workers in southern Italy which left some 70 people injured.
Police have evacuated 320 Africans by bus from the town of Rosarno, in Calabria.
The pope told pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square at the Vatican: "An immigrant is a human being, different only in where he comes from, his culture and tradition.
"He is a person to respect and with rights and responsibilities, and should be respected particularly in the working world where there is an temptation to exploit.
"We have to go to the heart of the problem, of the significance of the human being," the Pope said.
"The problem is a human one, and I invite everyone to look in the face of those nearby and see their soul, their history and their life and say to themselves: it is a man and God loves him as God loves me."
The BBC reports the labour market is controlled by the local mafia, called the 'Ndrangheta. The workers live in sordid conditions. They are paid 20 euros ($US30) per day.
Labour laws and safety and health regulations are ignored, and no taxes or welfare contributions are ever paid.
The Calabrian mafia is one of the most powerful criminal organisations in Italy, controlling much of Europe's narcotics trade.
