The migrant crisis is the hot button issue for three major contenders in the country's upcoming election.
With major parties focused on addressing it, the election result could be a litmus test for voter sentiment across the continent.
Comedian Beppe Grillo leads the charge for the Five Star Movement, a centrist party tipped to win a majority, but a criminal conviction means he can't become prime minister, leaving young up-and-comer Luigi de Maio as the likely leader.
Partito Democratico is the second favourite. It's led by incumbent prime minister Paolo Gentiloni who has spruiked his record on curbing migrant arrivals while in power - a key campaign platform.
"We've had a 70 per cent reduction of arrivals from July, with a drastic reduction of deaths at sea," he claims.
But the party could instead endorse Matteo Renzi, who was Italy's prime minister until last December.
Another past prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is standing for a right-leaning alliance. However Mr Berlusconi can't currently run as leader either - he's entangled in a court battle fighting fraud convictions, and it will be weeks before he knows the verdict of a court appeal.
Another possible leader would be Matteo Salvini of the xenophobic party Northern League.
The Italian system also allows for overseas-based candidates to win up to 12 seats in the lower house, and six in the senate.
For that reason, we'll see a strong campaign run locally - where one of the largest groups of Italian migrants will have a major influence on the election.
There are more than 100,000 Italian expats around the country - in a seat that also includes Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica.
Whichever party emerges the victor on March 4, it will almost certainly need to share power.
