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 Italy |  Spain |
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| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Italy, Madrid | Embassy of Spain, Rome |
Italy–Spain relations are theinterstate relations betweenItaly andSpain. Both countries established diplomatic relations some time after theunification of Italy in 1861.
Both nations are member states of theEuropean Union (and both nations use theeuro as currency) and are both members of theCouncil of Europe,OECD,NATO,Union for the Mediterranean, and theUnited Nations.
In 218 BC, theRomans, coming fromItaly,conquered the Iberian Peninsula, which later became theRoman province ofHispania. The Romans introduced theVulgar Latin, the ancestor of theRomance languages,[1] which are spoken in both current-day countries of Italy and Spain. As a result of the conquest, miningextractive processes in the southwest of the peninsula (which required a massive number of forced laborers, initially from Hispania and later also from theGallic borderlands and other locations of the Mediterranean), increased by leaps and bounds, bringing the interaction ofslaving andecocide, entailing far-reaching environmental outcome in terms of pollution records, unmatched in the Mediterranean region until the Industrial Revolution.[2][3] Vis-à-vis the local aristocracies in Hispania, a long process consisting of the fusion of incoming Roman and Italic settlers and theromanized indigenous elites was chiefly completed by the 1st century CE.[4] It had involved the granting of Roman citizenship to entire communities.[5] Some of the members of the local aristocracies of theBaetica managed to insert themselves into the social and political structures of the High Roman Empire.[6]
Rome's imperial authority over Hispania receded and was ultimately severed in the 5th century, during theMigration period. TheRome-based Latin Church would go on to hold nonetheless substantial clout over Christian polities of the Peninsula for the rest of the Middle Ages.
After 1557, theKingdom of Sicily, theKingdom of Naples, and theDuchy of Milan under theCatholic Monarchy hitherto ruled by theCouncil of Aragon became ruled by the newly createdCouncil of Italy,[7] as a cog of thepolysynodial system underpinning the administration of theHabsburg empire, a composite monarchy. TheKingdom of Sardinia remained for the time being ruled by the Council of Aragon.[8] The Council of Italy was dissolved for good in the wake of thePeace of Utrecht.[9][10]
After the proclamation ofVictor Emmanuel II as King ofItaly in 1861Spain failed to initially recognise the country, still considering Victor Emmanuel as the "Sardinian King".[11] The recognition was met by the opposition of QueenIsabella II of Spain, influenced by the stance ofPope Pius IX.[12] OnceLeopoldo O'Donnell overcame the opposition of the Queen, Spain finally recognised the Kingdom of Italy on 15 July 1865.[13] Soon later, in 1870, following the dethronement of Isabella II at the1868 Glorious Revolution, the second son of Victor Emmanuel II,Amadeo I, was elected King of Spain, reigning from 1871 until his abdication in 1873.
Despite some incipient attempts to promote further understanding between the two countries, immediately after the end ofWorld War I, there were still issues restraining further Italian-Spanish engagement inSpain. This includes a sector of public opinion showing aversion towardsItaly; a prominent example beingAustria-born Queen MotherMaria Christina.[14]
Once dictatorsBenito Mussolini (1922) andMiguel Primo de Rivera (1923) got to power, conditions for closer relations became more clear, with the notion of a rapprochement to Italy becoming more interesting to the Spanish Government policy, particularly in terms of the profit those improved relations could deliver to Spain vis-à-vis theTangier question.[14] For Italy, the installment of thedictatorship of Primo de Rivera offered a prospect for greater ascendancy over a country with a government now widely interested in the reforms carried out inFascist Italy.[15] Relations during this period were often embedded in a diplomatic triangle betweenFrance,Italy, andSpain. While showing a will for friendship and rapprochement, the "Treaty for Conciliation and Arbitration" signed in August 1926 between the two countries delivered limited substance in practical terms, compared to the expectations at the starting point of thePrimorriverista dictatorship.[16]
A diplomatic "honeymoon" between the two regimes followed the signing of the treaty, nonetheless.[17]
The early monarchist conspirations against theSecond Spanish Republic enjoyed support from Mussolini.[18] One of the most important Italian communities in Spain resided inCatalonia as well as the Italian economic interests in Spain lied there, hence that region became a significant point of attention for the Italian diplomacy during the Spanish Second Republic, and the Italian diplomacy established some contacts with incipient filo-fascist elements withinRepublican Left of Catalonia, includingJosep Dencàs, although Italy eventually went on to bet on Spanish fascism.[19] Although both monarchists fromRenovación Española, thetraditionalists and the Fascistfalangists engaged in negotiations asking help from Fascist Italy regarding the preparations of the1936 coup d'état, Mussolini decided not to take part at the time.[18]
After 18 July 1936 and the beginning of theSpanish Civil War, Mussolini changed the strategy and intervened on the side of theRebel faction.[18] TheCorps of Volunteer Troops (CTV), a fascist expeditionary force from Italy, brought in about 78,000 Italian troops, sent to help Franco and vowing to establish a Fascist Spain and a Fascist Europe.[20] In 1937, key military actions in which the CTV took part included the battles ofMálaga, Bermeo,Santander and thefiasco of Guadalajara. Between 1938 and 1939, according to the historian Rodrigo Javier, "the Italians were crucial to the success of the Rebel army...inbreaking through and stabilizing the Aragon front, inthe occupation of Barcelona and Girona and inconcluding the Levantine campaign".[21]
Italian submarines carried out a campaign against Republican ships, also targeting Mediterranean ports together with surface ships.[22] The ItalianRegia Marina also provided key logistical support to the Rebels, including escort of commercial shipment transporting war supplies,[23] and, seeking to facilitate the naval blockade on the Republic, it also allowed the Rebel Navy the use ofanchorages in Sicily and Sardinia.[24]
Italians forces in theBalearic Islands established an air base of theAviazione Legionaria in Mallorca, from which Italians were given permission by the rebel authorities to bomb locations across thePeninsular Levante controlled by the Republic (including the bombings of Barcelona investigated ascrimes against humanity).[25] A Fascistsquadristi,Arconovaldo Bonaccorsi, led a wild repression in the Balearic islands.[26]
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During World War II, 1939 to 1943, Spanish-Italian ties were close. Though Italy fought alongside Germany during the war, Spain was recovering from a civil war and remained neutral.In February 1941, the meeting between Mussolini and Franco in Bordighera took place; during the meeting theDuce asked Franco to join theAxis.[27]
The fall of Mussolini came as a shock to the Franco administration. During the first few weeks the tightly-censored Spanish press limited themselves to laconic, matter-of-fact information when providing news on the Italian developments.[28] However, after theItalian-American armistice had been made public, the Spanish papers extensively quoted the official German statement, which lambasted the Italian treason. Some Spanish officers sent their Italian military decorations back to the Italian embassy in Madrid.[29]
Since mid-September 1943 two Italian states, the one headed by Mussolini and the one headed by kingVictor Emmanuel III, competed for Spanish diplomatic recognition; the German diplomatic representatives in Madrid pressed the case of Mussolini, the Allied ones advised strongly against it.[30] Following a period of hesitation, in late September Spain declared it would continue its official relations with the Kingdom of Italy.[31]
The Italian ambassador in Madrid Paulucci di Calboli opted for theBadoglio government, even though some Italian consuls in Spain declared loyalty to Mussolini.[32] The Spanish ambassador in Fascist Italy,Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta, formally remained at the post of the Spanish representative in the Kingdom, though he returned to Madrid; in practice before the Badoglio administration Spain was represented by lower-rank officials.[33] However, Spain maintained informal relations with theRepubblica Sociale Italiana. The former Italian consul in Málaga, Eugenio Morreale, became an unofficial Mussolini representative in Madrid;[34] the Spanish consul in Milan, Fernando Chantel, became an unofficial Franco representative in RSI.[35]
In practice, Spain maintained distance towards both the so-calledKingdom of the South and the RSI. Badoglio sought Madrid's good offices to expedite negotiations with the Allies, but he was turned down. Major Fascist figures who sought Spanish passports were almost always denied assistance.[36] During the final months of the war new ambassadors were appointed by both Spain (José Antonio de Sangróniz y Castro) and the Kingdom of Italy (Tommaso Gallarati Scotti), though Sangróniz arrived no earlier than in May 1945.[37]
After World War II, the Francoist dictatorship provided financial support to post-fascist Italian partyItalian Social Movement (MSI), by means of a scheme set up by foreign ministerAlberto Martín-Artajo.[38] Starting in the 1960s, Franco also provided support toOrdine Nuovo andNational Vanguard, also lending sanctuary to putschistJunio Valerio Borghese in 1970, with Spain henceforth serving as a den for some Italian far-right terrorists, who eventually played themselves a role in the so-calledSpanish Transition.[38]
Nowadays,Italy andSpain are full member countries of theEuropean Union (EU),NATO, and theUnion for the Mediterranean (UfM). Bilateral relations between the two countries are very close due to the historical ties that unite them and due to their membership in the EU. Meetings between governments and at the business level are frequent. All of this is reflected in economic exchanges marked by a very significant weight.[39][40]
Diplomatic relations under the EU have been mired by underlying issues of common mistrust between both countries; cultural proximity and common challenges notwithstanding.[41] They underwent a period of "freezing cold" during the simultaneous premierships ofMariano Rajoy andMatteo Renzi, who did not get along on a personal level.[41] Both governments outlined plans for the empowerment of a Madrid-Rome axis vis-à-vis EU negotiations of post COVID-19 reconstruction during thesecond cabinet of Italian prime ministerGiuseppe Conte, withPedro Sánchez as his Spanish counterpart.[42] The arrival ofMario Draghi to Italian premiership, however, further distanced the position between both countries, contrasting to the hitherto "relative alignment" cultivated by Conte.[43]
In November 2021, Italian PresidentSergio Mattarella made a state visit to Spain, and was received by KingFelipe VI at theRoyal Palace of Madrid.[44]
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In January 2022, Spain proposed to Italy the signing of a Friendship Treaty between the two countries. Spanish foreign ministerAlbares proposed to his Italian counterpartDi Maio the "relaunch" of the relationship between the parliaments of Spain and Italy and raised the prospect of creating an investment forum between companies from both countries pertaining to projects making use of EU funds.[45][46] In November, the Italian Prime Minister,Giorgia Meloni, stated that cooperation on energy, "real economy" and immigration will continue, strengthening bilateral relations within the common framework of the EU and NATO.[47]
During theAge of Discovery, famous Italian explorers and travelers were part of modern Spanish history. Examples includeAmerigo Vespucci,Christopher Columbus andFrancesco Guicciardini.[48][49][50]
AEurostat publication in 2016 estimated that 187,847Italian citizens live in Spain and 19,094Spanish citizens live in Italy.[51]
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