Palaeopathology makes possible investigations into the origin of diseases. So the aim of this editorial is to explore all the palaeopathologic remains supposed to be related to the origin of thalassemia in Italy. This last is a problem which has led to much speculation. Two theories have been proposed. The first sees the earliest evidence of thalassemia as going back to the upper Palaeolithic era, and the second suggests that thalassemia originated in Greece and spread to Italy when it was colonized by the Greeks between the 8th and 6th centuries B.C. The second view seems to be supported by the fact that at present the incidence of thalassemia is highest in the areas where ancient Greek immigration was most intense — Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Lucania, Apulia and the mouth of the Po.