 | |
 Italy |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Italian Embassy, Washington, D.C. | United States Embassy, Rome |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Marco Peronaci[1] | Ambassador Tilman J. Fertitta[2] |
.jpg)
Italy and theUnited States enjoy warm and very friendly relations. The United States has had diplomatic representation in the nation of Italy and its predecessor nations, theKingdom of Sardinia and then theKingdom of Italy, since 1840. However, in 1891 the Italian government severed diplomatic relations and briefly contemplated war against the US as a response to the unresolved case of thelynching of eleven Italians inNew Orleans, Louisiana, and there was a break in relations from 1941 to 1943, while Italy and the United States were at war.
AfterWorld War II, Italy became a strong and active transatlantic partner which, along with the United States, has sought to foster democratic ideals and international cooperation in areas of strife and civil conflict. Toward this end, the Italian government has cooperated with the United States in the formulation of defense, security, and peacekeeping policies.Under longstanding bilateral agreements flowing fromNATO membership, Italy hosts important U.S. military forces atVicenza andLivorno (army);Aviano (air force); andSigonella,Gaeta, andNaples—home port for the U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet. The United States has about 11,500 military personnelstationed in Italy. Italy hosts theNATO Defense College inRome.
In addition to close governmental, economic and cultural ties, according to Pew Research global opinion polls, Italy is one of the mostpro-American nations in the world, with 70% of Italians viewing the United States favorably in 2002, increasing to 78% in 2014;[3] according to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 51% ofItalians approved of U.S. leadership under theObama Administration, with 16% disapproving and 33% uncertain.[4] On the other hand, according to theBest Countries survey by U.S. News & World Report, Italy is among Americans' favorite countries, ranking fourth overall in 2024.[5]
Before 1861, no singular Italiannation state existed. The Italian Peninsula was instead divided among several smaller states, each of which the United States established diplomatic relations with. Many of these smaller Italian states were among the first countries in the world to recognize the independence of and maintain diplomatic relations with the United States. For example, theRepublic of Genoa officially recognized U.S. independence in 1792[6] and consular relations were established with thePapal States in 1797.[7] During theRisorgimento, the smaller states inhabiting the Italian Peninsula unified to form theKingdom of Italy. The United States officially recognized the Kingdom of Italy on April 11, 1861.[8]
During theFirst Barbary War (1801–1805), the United States was allied with theKingdom of Sicily against theBarbary corsairs due to a shared interest by both countries in putting an end to the disruption of trade on theMediterranean Sea caused by the corsairs.[9]
Both Italy and the United States were part of theEight-Nation Alliance that intervened in theBoxer Rebellion inChina from 1899 to 1901.
From the 1880s to 1920, more than 4 million Italians emigrated to the United States and accounted for more than 10 percent of the country's foreign-born population.[10]Italian Americans facedrampant hostility and discrimination. Italian immigration to the United States dramatically declined tapered off in the 1920s largely because of passage of theImmigration Act of 1924.
After thedeaths of 11 Italians during amass lynching in 1891, relations between the nations were strained. The Italian government demanded that the lynch mob be brought to justice and reparations be paid to the dead men's families. When the U.S. declined to prosecute the mob leaders, Italy recalled its ambassador from Washington in protest.[11]: 95 The U.S. followed suit, recalling its delegation from Rome. Diplomatic relations remained at an impasse for over a year. When PresidentBenjamin Harrison agreed to pay a $25,000 indemnity to the victims' families,Congress tried unsuccessfully to intervene, accusing him of "unconstitutional executive usurpation of Congressional powers".[11]: 126–127
The United States and Italy were both members of theAllied Powers duringWorld War I, and PresidentWoodrow Wilson visited Rome while traveling to theParis Peace Conference. However, at the Conference PresidentWoodrow Wilson opposedItalian irredentist war aims guaranteed in the secretTreaty of London, which ran counter to his14 Points demanding "open diplomacy" andself-determination. In protest of Wilson and the other Allied leaders' refusal to recognize territorial demands inYugoslavia andAlbania, the Italian delegation under Prime MinisterVittorio Orlando and Foreign MinisterSidney Sonnino walked out of the conference. Wilson tried to mollify the situation by issuing a direct appeal to the Italian people inLe Temps, but it was widely derided by the Italian public.[12][13]
Since Mussolini's rise to power, the United States applauded him on his early achievements, including helping with relations between the two countries. Relations deteriorated afterItaly invaded Ethiopia in 1935.[14][15]
On December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, and the U.S. reciprocated in kind.[16] The U.S. and Britain seized Sicily in 1943 with little combat needed as the Italians pulled out. The Allied invasion of Southern Italy in fall 1943 was a different matter, however, as casualties were high and progress was slow. The Allies captured Rome in June 1944 and very slowly pushed north. The Allies gave much higher priority to the invasion of France in 1944; Italy was a "backwater.".[17]
From 1943 till the end of the war the only part of Italy at war with the United States was the German puppet state theItalian Social Republic. Italian Partisans andVictor Emmanuel III and his loyalists from 1943 overthrew Mussolini and declared war on Germany. Germany quickly overran the entire peninsula. Italy helped the United States and other Allies during theItalian Campaign ofWorld War II.[18]
When the war ended in May 1945, the United States occupied Italy until itsplebiscite on the institutional form of the State. The United States helped with the transition from a monarchy to a republic in 1946. Italy had become a valued ally of the United States against the spread of communism in Europe during theCold War .[19]
Italy signed aPeace Treaty with the U.S. and Britain in 1947 and joined theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. The U.S. helped to revive theItalian economy through theMarshall Plan. In the same years, Italy also became a member of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which eventually transformed into theEuropean Union (EU).
Christian Democrat Prime MinisterAlcide De Gasperi (1945–1953) enjoyed considerable support in the US, where he was seen as the man who could oppose the rising tide of Communism – in particular theItalian Communist Party, which was the biggest communist party in aWestern European democracy. In January 1947 he visited the US. The chief goals of the trip were to soften the terms of the pending peace treaty with Italy, and to obtain immediate economic assistance. His ten-day tour, engineered by media mogulHenry Luce – the owner ofTime Magazine – and his wifeClare Boothe Luce the future ambassador to Rome, was viewed as a media "triumph," prompting positive comments of a wide section of the American press.[20]
During his meetings in the U.S., he managed to secure a financially modest but politically significant US$100 millionEximbank loan to Italy. According to De Gasperi, public opinion would view the loan as a vote of confidence in the Italian Government and strengthen his position versus the Communist Party in the context of the emergingCold War. The positive results strengthened De Gasperi's reputation in Italy. He also came back with useful information on the incipient change in American foreign policy that would lead to the Cold War and in Italy the break with the Communists and left-wing Socialists and their removal from the government in theMay 1947 crisis.[21]
Italy faced political instability in the 1970s, which ended in the 1980s. Known as theYears of Lead, this period was characterized by widespread social conflicts and terrorist acts carried out by extra-parliamentary movements. The assassination of the leader of theChristian Democracy (DC),Aldo Moro, led to the end of a "historic compromise" between the DC and theCommunist Party (PCI). In the 1980s, for the first time, two governments were managed by a republican (Giovanni Spadolini) and a socialist (Bettino Craxi) rather than by a member of DC.
Many aspects of the Years of Lead are still shrouded in mystery and debate about them continues. There were many, especially on the left, who spoke of the existence in those years of astrategy of tension (strategia della tensione).[22] According to this theory, occult and foreign forces were involved in creating a "strategy of tension". Identified organizations included:Gladio, aNATO secret anti-communist structure; theP2 masonic lodge, discovered in 1981 following the arrest of its leaderLicio Gelli;neo-fascist "black terrorism" organizations such asOrdine Nuovo orAvanguardia Nazionale;Italian secret service; and theUnited States. This theory re-emerged in the 1990s, following Prime MinisterGiulio Andreotti's recognition of the existence of Gladio before the Parliamentary assembly on 24 October 1990.[23] Juridical investigations into thePiazza Fontana bombing and theBologna massacre and several parliamentary reports pointed towards such a deliberate strategy of tension. Milan prosecutorGuido Salvini indicted aU.S. Navy officer,David Carrett, for his role in the Piazza Fontana bombing. He also surprised Carlo Rocchi, aCIA operative in Italy, in 1995 while searching for information concerning the case in the mid-1990s. In 2000, a Parliamentary Commission report from the then center-left government, concluded that the strategy of tension had been supported by the United States to"stop the PCI, and to a certain degree also the PSI, from reaching executive power in the country".[22][24][25]
In 1985, disagreement over the handling of theAchille Lauro hijacking resulted in a heated diplomatic clash between the Italian and United States governments, as well as between elements of their respective militaries. The diplomatic quarrel, known as theSigonella crisis, escalated into a confrontation and arm standoff between United Statesspecial forces units and the Italian military, primarily the VAM (Vigilanza Aeronautica Militare) andCarabinieri.[26] The diplomatic crisis was soon resolved during a conference between Prime MinisterBettino Craxi and PresidentRonald Reagan.
With the end of theYears of lead (Italy) (1969–1989), the Italian Communist Party gradually increased its votes under the leadership ofEnrico Berlinguer. TheSocialist party (PSI), partner of Christian Democrats and led by Prime MinisterBettino Craxi, became more and more critical of the communists and of theSoviet Union; Craxi himself pushed in favour of US presidentRonald Reagan's positioning ofPershing II missiles in Italy, a move the communists hotly contested. After the fall of theBerlin Wall, Italy faced significant challenges, as voters, disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt and an extensive corruption system (collectively calledTangentopoli after being uncovered by the 'Clean Hands' investigation ), demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms.[citation needed] The scandals involved all major parties, but especially those in the government coalition: between 1992 and 1994 theChristian Democrats underwent a severe crisis and was dissolved, splitting up into several pieces, while also theSocialists and the other governing minor parties also dissolved. The Communists reorganized as asocial-democratic force.
.jpg)
During the 1990s and 2000s, the United States and Italy have always cooperated asNATO partners on issues like theGulf War,Lebanon, the Middle East peace process, multilateral talks,Somalia andMozambique peacekeeping,drug trafficking,trafficking in women and children, and terrorism. Under longstanding bilateral agreements flowing from NATO membership, Italy hosts important U.S. military forces atVicenza andLivorno (army);Aviano (air force); andSigonella,Gaeta, andNaples–home port for theUnited States Sixth Fleet. The United States has about 13,000 military personnel stationed in Italy. Italy hosts theNATO Defence College in Rome. Italy remains a strong and active transatlantic partner which, along with the United States, has sought to foster democratic ideals and international cooperation in areas of strife and civil conflict.
Relations between the two nations were briefly but significantly strained in the wake of the1998 Cavalese cable car crash. Near the Italianski resort town ofCavalese in theDolomites, aUnited States Marine CorpsEA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and against regulations, cut a cable supporting acable car of anaerial lift, causing the car to plummet over 80 metres (260 ft) to the ground and killing 20 people. The pilot and navigator of the aircraft were put on trial in the United States and found not guilty ofinvoluntary manslaughter andnegligent homicide, outraging the Italian public.
During the 2000s, Berlusconi and his cabinets have had a strong tendency to supportAmerican foreign policies,[27] despite the policy divide between the U.S. and many founding members of theEuropean Union (Germany,France, andBelgium) during theBush administration.[28] Under his lead the Italian Government also shifted its traditional position on foreign policy from being the most pro-Arab western government towards a greater friendship withIsrael andTurkey. Italy, with Berlusconi in office, became a solid ally of the United States due to his support in theWar in Afghanistan and theIraq War following the2003 invasion of Iraq in thewar on terror. Silvio Berlusconi, in his meetings withUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan and U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush, said that he pushed for "a clear turnaround in the Iraqi situation" and for a quick handover of sovereignty to the government chosen by the Iraqi people.[citation needed] TheItalian Armed Forces had some 3,200 troops deployed in Southern Iraq, the third largest contingent there after the American and British forces.[29] Italian troops were gradually withdrawn from Iraq in the second half of 2006 with the last soldiers leaving the country in December of the same year.
During his second center-left government from 2006 to 2008, Prime MinisterRomano Prodi laid out some sense of his newforeign policy when he pledged to withdraw Italian troops fromIraq and called theIraq War a "grave mistake that has not solved but increased the problem of security".[30]
Baseball is popular inNettuno, Italy because of the legacy of American soldiers residing there during World War II. The town has won several European championships and has helped to spread the sport into the rest of Italy.[31]
…Berlusconi, l' uomo che disse in passato di essere dalla parte degli Stati Uniti prima ancora di sapere da quale parte questi si schierano….
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
| Africa |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | |||
| Asia | |||
| Europe |
| ||
| Oceania | |||
| Diplomatic missions | |||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
