Lampedusa, roughly midway between Sicily and the African mainland, has been the point of arrival in Europe for hundreds of small, often overcrowded boats carrying would-be immigrants from Tunisia and Libya.
At times, the island’s 5,000-strong population has been outnumbered by the immigrants, most of them young men in search of work in Europe.
Tensions erupted on Tuesday when some migrants set fire to a holding center on the island in protest at plans for forced repatriation.
Around 1,200 migrants were relocated to a sports field after the incident. Clashes with residents broke out on Wednesday after some residents threw stones, local officials said.
The opposition Democratic Party accused the Italian government and Interior Minister Roberto Maroni of allowing the tensions to get out of hand.
“The situation has become explosive because the government has not been living up to its responsibilities,” Livia Turco, head of the party’s immigration policy group, said in a statement.
Italy wants to restore the migration agreements which existed before the “Arab Spring” upheavals swept the former regime in Tunisia from power and has encouraged voluntary repatriation schemes under which migrants are helped to return home.
Migrants arriving in Lampedusa are held in reception centers on the island before being transferred to the mainland where many try to make their way to other European countries, notably France.
Lampedusa is a sleepy island which in normal times lives off fishing and tourism, but it has been transformed by the crisis which has placed its normally hospitable maritime culture under increasing strain.
In addition to the assistance provided by official emergency services, residents have for months offered food and even shelter to the thousands of migrants camped around the island in the hope of being taken to the mainland.
But the ceaseless flow of arrivals and fears among migrants of forcible repatriation has raised the temperature.
Italian news agency ANSA reported that journalists on the island were threatened by some residents on Wednesday. There have been similar reports from humanitarian groups which have representatives monitoring the situation on the ground.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ordered thousands of migrants to be shipped to the mainland last year in a bid to clear the island.
However, the flow of arrivals has continued unabated, exacerbated by the fighting in nearby Libya and the breakdown of normal border controls.