The far-right interior minister has also shrugged off critics who say his policies are illegal and reminiscent of the country’s fascist past.
Salvini, who has seen a jump in his approval ratings in the little under three weeks he has been in office, has called for a new census of Roma and for all non-Italian Roma to be expelled from the country.
He also praised on Twitter the demolition of an “illegal” house used by Roma in Turin - which had been ordered by a local council controlled by Salvini’s League party.
Salvini’s move against the Roma comes amid a hard line against migrants into Europe, which last week saw him refuse to allow a ship carrying more than 600 people rescued from Mediterranean from docking in Italy, forcing it to divert to Spain.
