We provide an overview of the current data management research issues in the context of the Semantic Web. The objective is to introduce the audience into the area of the Semantic Web, and to highlight the fact that the area provides many interesting research opportunities for the data management community. A new model, the Resource Description Framework (RDF), coupled with a new query language, called SPARQL, lead us to revisit some classical data management problems, including efficient storage, query optimization, and data integration. These are problems that the Semantic Web community has only recently started to explore, and therefore the experience and long tradition of the database community can prove valuable. We target both experienced and novice researchers that are looking for a thorough presentation of the area and its key research topics.