 | |
 Italy |  Thailand |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Italy,Bangkok | Royal Thai Embassy,Rome |
| Envoy | |
| Paolo Dionisi | Puttaporn Ewtoksan |
Italy–Thailand relations date back officially to 1868.Italy operates an embassy inBangkok, along with a consulate inChiang Mai andPhuket.[1][2]Thailand operates an embassy inRome. The Thai embassy in Rome also handles Thailand's relations withAlbania,Cyprus,San Marino, and theSovereign Military Order of Malta.[3]
Italian culture has had a significant impact on modern Thailand, especially in its architecture.
In 1430, the Venetian merchantNicolò de'Conti visited theTenasserim region, becoming the first European to visit the region, and the first Italian to visit Thailand as the region was at that time a province of theAyutthaya Kingdom.[5]
In the early 1800s, Bangkok was called 'Venice of the East' due to the city's canals.[6]
.jpg)
On 3 October 1868, representatives ofKing Chulalongkorn of Siam andKing Victor Emmanuel II of Italy signed a Treaty of Friendship and Commerce.[7] Since then, both nations have maintained bilateral relations between each other.[8]
KingVajiravudh's second coronation on 28 November 1911 was attended by Salvatore Besso, a Jewish Italian foreign correspondent, among other foreign dignitaries. In his time in Siam, he made several friendships with Siamese royals. After his death in 1912, his letters were published in the book "Siam and China" in 1913.[9]
As part of theLeague of Nations, Siam imposed economic sanctions on Italy in 1935 in response to itsinvasion of Ethiopia. The move to impose sanctions was supported by theMinister of Interior Luang Pradist, andMinister of Foreign Affairs Srisena Sompatsiri. It was however opposed byPlaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun), future Prime Minister of Siam and thenMinister of Defence. At a General Assembly on 19 October 1935, Siam voted in favour of imposing sanctions. The sanctions were then imposed by four royal decrees, the first being issued on 28 October, and the next three on 17 November. Mostly economical, the sanctions had little impact on the Siamese economy due to the size of Italian-Siamese trade. For the Thai year 2477 (1934-35), imports from Italy were valued ฿250,000, while exports were valued ฿342,000.[10]
There were however discussions between Phraya Ratchawangsan, formerDefence Minister and Siam's Permanent Representative to the League, and Mani Sanasen, who was a staff of the Secretariat of the League, on exempting ships ordered from Italy by the Siamese navy from these sanctions.[10] During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Italy built several ships for theRoyal Thai Navy, who were satisfied at the mechanical reliability of Italian-made ships.[11] This included seven torpedo boats and two mine-layers ordered in 1934-35 fromCantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico atMonfalcone, which were scheduled to be delivered to Siam between late 1935 and 1937. Instead of cancelling the orders, the Siamese government began pushing to exempt them from the sanctions. The Foreign Affairs Ministry then instructed its delegates at the League to lobby British and French delegates to support the exemption. Siam was the only country that pushed for this untilNorway,Poland, and theSoviet Union also began requesting exemptions. On 11 November, the Economic Committee decided to exempt ships contracts being built in Italy for Siam. A week later, one of the ordered torpedo boats was launched at Monfalcone. By mid-1937, all ordered ships had been delivered.[10]
In 1938, the Thai navy ordered a pair of altered versions of the ItalianMontecuccoli-class light cruisers from Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico. The cruisers were calledTaksin (Etna) andNaresuan (Vesuvio). Both ships were laid down in 1939 before Italy's entry intoWorld War II. Construction continued normally until December 1941 when theRoyal Italian Navy took over the construction. They were later seized byNazi Germany in September 1943 and then scuttled during its operations in Italy.[11]
During theFranco-Thai War, the French Indochinese fleet sunk three Italian-built torpedo boats offKoh Chang on 17 January 1941.[12]
During World War II, both Italy and Thailand were part of theAxis powers. Thailand during the war was often compared to Italy, and was labeled by both its allyJapan and theAllies as the "Italy of Asia" or "Oriental Italy".[13]
AtSuvarnabhumi airport on 30 March 2012, fugitive Italian businessmanVito Roberto Palazzolo was arrested on money laundering charges after being convicted in Italy in 2009. On 20 December 2012, a Thai court ordered his extradition back to Italy.[15]
In September 2013, Thai Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra called on Italian Prime MinisterEnrico Letta to support the second round of negotiations of a European Union-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, while Thailand would support Italy in hosting the 2014Asia–Europe Meeting summit and itsExpo 2015 bid.[16]
In November 2016, the first political consultation between the two nations took place in Rome. In February 2017, Italian foreign ministerAngelino Alfano made a visit to Bangkok, and in March, his counterpartDon Pramudwinai visited Rome. On the sidelines of the 2018 Asia–Europe Meeting summit inBrussels, Italian Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte met with Thai PMPrayut Chan-o-cha.[7]
In 2022, Italy exported $2.06 billion USD to Thailand, while Thailand exported $2.46 billion USD to Italy. Italian exports have increased at an annualized rate of 1.8% since 1995 where its exports were worth $1.27 billion. Thai exports since 1995 have increased more at an annualized rate of 4.88% from $680 million in 1995. In 2020, Italy exported services worth $76.3 million to Thailand. According to The Observatory of Economic Complexity, both nation's top 5 exports to each other in December 2023 are listed below:[17]
|
|
TheItalian-Thai Development PCL, established in 1954 by Thai and Italian businessmen, is a construction company based in Bangkok that helped construct Suvarnabhumi airport.[18][19]
When Paolo Dionisi became the Italian ambassador to Thailand in January 2023, he told PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha that Italy was interested in investing into Thailand'sEastern Economic Corridor (EEC), particularly in the motorcycle industry.[20]Rayong province, which is part of the EEC, saw the Italian motorcycle manufacturerDucati open a ฿400 million factory in April 2024.[21][22]
The 7th High-level Dialogue onASEAN-Italy Economic Relations was co-hosted by Thailand and Italy on October 4th 2023, marking 155 years of diplomatic ties. The talks covered sustainability, green transition and economic cooperation.[23]
TheGeo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand maintains cooperations with theItalian Space Agency in space and satellite technology.[20]
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2024) |
As of April 2024, there currently exists no direct flights between Italy and Thailand. However,Thai Airways plans to resume flights between Suvarnabhumi airport andMilan Malpensa Airport on 1 July 2024.[24]
In 2018, over 280,000 Italians visited Thailand, an increase from 265,000 in 2017.[25] In 2018, 37,000 Thais visited Italy.[7]
.jpg)
As of 2024, no Italian monarch, President or Prime Minister has visited Thailand. In 2013, Prime Minister Enrico Letta agreed to make a visit to Thailand around July 2014.[26] However, before this could happen, Letta resigned in February 2014, and Thailand experienced a coup. Current Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed interests to visit Thailand.[27]
The first Thai monarch to visit Italy was King Chulalongkorn in 1897 as part of hisfirst royal trip to Europe. In Italy, he visited Florence, Milan, and Venice, before travelling to Geneva, and then back to Rome where he met KingUmberto I. Chulalongkorn also made a visit to Saint Peter's Basilica before leaving forPiotrków.[28] The last Thai Prime Minister to visit Italy was Yingluck Shinawatra in September 2013, who also visitedSwitzerland,Monetenegro and theVatican at the same time.[29][30]
|
|
_(cropped).jpg)
TheItalian language is taught atChulalongkorn andThammasat universities, whileThai is taught inCa' Foscari University in Venice.[7]
During the reign of King Chulalongkron and Vajiravudh, many Italian architects were employed to carry out major construction projects in Bangkok.[31] When in 1889, theDepartment of Public Works was established by Chulalongkorn, the department was mainly staffed by Europeans, mostly Italians.[32]
TheGovernment House of Thailand for instance, was initially designed byAnnibale Rigotti in 1923. When it became the prime minister's office in 1941,Corrado Feroci andErcole Manfredi were employed to complete the building's construction. The design of the façade resembles theCa' d'Oro Palazzo in Venice.[33] TheAnanta Samakhom Throne Hall commissioned in 1908 was built inrenaissance andneoclassical architecture; designed byMario Tamagno and Rigotti; and engineered byCarlo Allegri and G.E. Gollo.[34]Marble sourced fromCarrara was also used, with marble works being done byVittorio Novi and his nephewRudolfo Nolli.[35] Carrara marble was also used during the construction ofWat Benchamabophit.[32] Other notable buildings includeSiam Commercial Bank's first permanent office, theTalat Noi Branch, which was designed by Rigotti in aBeaux-Arts style.[36] TheHua Lamphong Railway Station built between 1910 and 1916 was designed by Tamagno and based on other European railway stations such as theTorino Porta Nuova railway station.[37]
One of the most significant Italian artists in Thailand was Corrado Feroci, who later became a Thai citizen under the name Silpa Bhirasri. He arrived in Siam in 1923 to train artists and craftsman. He was later asked by the government to plan the curriculum and textbooks, and became instrumental in the early years ofSilpakorn University.[38] Notable monuments designed by Silpa include theDemocracy monument,Victory monument, the statue ofKing Taksin atWongwian Yai, and the statue ofGautama Buddha atPhutthamonthon. He is sometimes regarded as the 'Father of modern Thai art'.[25]
Italian architecture is also prominent outside of Bangkok, such as inIsan. In the early 1900s, Catholic Vietnamese migrants built several churches and homes in French and Italian architectural styles, such as inTha Rae inSakon Nakhon province.[39] InNakhon Ratchasima province nearKhao Yai National Park, is the tourist attraction Primo Piazza, which is a small village built in Tuscan themed architecture by Juladis and Primo Posto in 2010.[40][41]
Thai architecture is less notable in Italy than Italian architecture is in Thailand. Examples of Thai architecture in Italy are theImperial Spa in Milan andBrescia,[42] as well as several Buddhist temples built in Thai styles. One of them is theSantacittārāma Buddhist Monastery established in 1990 near Rome as part of theThai Forest Tradition ofTheravada Buddhism.[43]
In 2019, the secretary general of the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce, Michele Tomea, said that there were 1,000 Italian restaurants in Thailand, with 200 of them being in Bangkok.[5] In 2023, the Thai trade representative Nalinee Taveesin stated that there were in Thailand more Italian eateries than Italian people.[44]
Notable Thai-Italian singers include pop singer Valentina Giardullo (known as Valentina Ploy), who is based in Bangkok but grew up inSorrento. She had been a contestant inX Factor Italia, and onThe Voice Thailand in 2017,[45] and a 2nd runners-up inMiss Universe Thailand 2018.[46]
Jacopo Gianninoto is an Italian musician living mainly in Bangkok,[47] where he also directs Baroque Musike Bangkok with Alberto Firrincieli. The ensemble has played classical music in Southeast Asia since at least 2015.[48][49] TheThailand Philharmonic Orchestra has also cooporated with Italian composers in concerts where Thai and European instruments are played together.[50]
The sportMuay Thai has a presence in Italy. In June 2023,World Boxing Council Muaythai held a Muay Thai competition in Venice.[51] In the2023 European Games, Italy came 10th with a silver medal in theMuay Thai tournament.[52] Notable Italian Muay Thai fighters includeAnnalisa Bucci,Mathias Gallo Cassarino,Joseph Lasiri,Martine Michieletto, andAlessandro Riguccini.
Marco Ballini, who was born in Bologna to an Italian father and Thai mother, is a footballer who plays forChiangrai United F.C.[53][54] Other Italian-Thai footballers include siblingsAntonio andGionata Verzura.Karen andMark Chanloung are Italian-Thai dual citizencross-country skiers who have competed for both Italy and Thailand.[55] They both also competed forThailand at the 2017 Asian Winter Games,2018 Winter Olympics, and2022 Winter Olympics.[56][57][58] Another Italian-Thai skier isNicola Zanon, who competed for Thailand at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[59] Thailand's first athlete to win a medal at a Winter Olympic event was Italian bornbobsledderAgnese Campeol at the2024 Winter Youth Olympics.[60]
| Africa |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | |||
| Asia | |||
| Europe |
| ||
| Oceania | |||
| Diplomatic missions | |||
| Africa |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Americas | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| Oceania | ||
| Missions | ||
