Ireland's relationship with Italy
Ireland’s diplomatic relations with Italy were established in 1937, but the threads of our peoples’ history have been interwoven for centuries.
In 1849, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s forces defended the Roman Republic from Villa Spada. This building, which holds great significance in the history of Italian reunification, is home today to the Embassy of Ireland.
Today, an estimated 5,000 Irish citizens live in Italy, but this is not new for our people. Great figures from Ireland’s history decided to spend part of their lives in Italy, and vice versa.
Only a few hundred metres away from Villa Spada, the church of San Pietro in Montorio houses the mortal remains of Hugh O'Neill and Rory O'Donnell, Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, two of Ireland’s most famous historical figures.
In the twentieth century, Guglielmo Marconi, an Irish-Italian man whose discoveries changed the world and our daily lives forever, initiated his first transatlantic vocal transmission from his station in Ballybunion, County Kerry.
Political and economic relations
Our two countries have enjoyed a deep relationship over the centuries. Today, this closeness is crystallised in our membership of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Ireland will open a Consulate General in Milan in 2024, joining Irish state agencies including Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, and Tourism Ireland, operating from branches in Milan. Italy is Ireland’s eighth-largest goods export partner. Food and cooking are one of the many dimensions of our relationship, and several Italian chefs are part of the Chef’s Irish Beef Club.
A common cultural vocation
Irish cultural influences in Italy can be found in a wide variety of fields. One of the most notable, for example, the Isola Maggiore of Lago Trasimeno in the Umbria region is renowned for its use of Irish lace.
The history of Ireland and Italy is studded with friendships and cultural intermingling. James Joyce made his name in Trieste, where he built a friendship with Italo Svevo. Celebrations still take place in Italy on Bloomsday each year.
Groups and organisations such as La Casa della Cultura irlandese, and the Irish Film Festa, keep the cultural dialogue between our two countries alive through festivals of Irish and Italian literature, music and film.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year across the Italian peninsula at local fairs, events, and an Ireland Week is organised annually in Milan and Rome. Gaelic Athletic Associations are also growing, with clubs in Milan and Rome increasing the ranks of Gaelic football lovers across the Bel Paese.