The essay reflects on the notion of «community» and the related concept of «identity», with the intent to highlight ambiguous and multifaceted elements. In particular, the idea of community finds its origins in ancient culture, before becoming a key concept of social sciences, and thus is open to a variety of theoretical interpretations. At present, the widespread processes of migration is commonly seen as a way to dismantle the terms and boundaries of traditional communities: the populist, nostalgic of «small countries», is to oppose imaginary communities to the real ones, in reciprocal antagonism.