I beleive there is a misunderstanding. The Roma people are nomads by definition, and not by popular beleif in Italy as is stated by the journalist. Italians certainly didn't invent the nomadic background of people who have been nomads since the 11th century travelling from India to Europe and all the way accross the oceans to the Americas.

"The Roma (as a noun, singular Rom, plural Roma; sometimes Rrom, Rroma, Rromany people, Romany people, Romani people or Romanies) belong to many ethnic groups that appear in literature and folklore, and are often referred to as Gypsies or Gipsies. The Roma have their origins in India and are thus originally Hindu.[35][36]

The Roma are still thought of as wandering nomads in the popular imagination, despite the fact that today the vast majority live in permanent housing.[37] This widely dispersed ethnic group lives across the world not only near Southern and Eastern Europe,[38] but also in the American continent and the Middle East."
by wikipedia.com ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_people )