2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/181414The origin of the soft X-ray emission in obscured AGN is still largely unknown. However, important progresses have been made thanks to the high energy and spatial resolution of XMM-Newton and Chandra. We review here the latest results on this issue, focusing on the physical properties of the material responsible for the soft X-ray emission and its relation to the circumnuclear environment, putting them in the general context of our understanding of the AGN structure and its feedback to the host galaxy.8 pages, 12 figures, invited review talk at the Workshop "The multicoloured landscape of compact objects and their explosive origin", Cefalu' (Sicily), 11-24 June 2006, to be published by AIPAstrophysicstext