The Small Magellanic Cloud is a close , irregular galaxy that has experienced a complex star formation history due to the strong interactions occurred both with the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Galaxy .
Despite its importance , the chemical composition of its stellar populations older than \sim 1-2 Gyr is still poorly investigated .
I present the first results of a spectroscopic survey of \sim 200 Small Magellanic Cloud giant stars performed with FLAMES @ VLT .
The derived metallicity distribution peaks at [ Fe/H ] \sim –0.9/–1.0 dex , with a secondary peak at [ Fe/H ] \sim –0.6 dex .
All these stars show [ \alpha /Fe ] abundance ratios that are solar or mildly enhanced ( \sim +0.1 dex ) .
Also , three metal-poor stars ( with [ Fe/H ] \sim –2.5 dex and enhanced [ \alpha /Fe ] ratios compatible with those of the Galactic Halo ) have been detected in the outskirts of the SMC : these giants are the most metal-poor stars discovered so far in the Magellanic Clouds .