This essay elaborates on Alberto Sobrero’s unpublished reflections on the relationship between anthropology and the Cape Verde archipelago. Firstly, it describes the different ways in which the discipline has investigated the islands, along three main phases: colonial, independence and post-independence. Secondly, it shows the specificities of the Italian anthropological gaze on Cape Verde, which developed from Sobrero’s work. Thirdly, it analyses the most recent research paths that have emerged at an international level and that are dedicated to analyzing the socio-cultural life of the archipelago. Finally, it presents the dossier.