Italy–Malta relations are bilateral relations between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Both countries established official diplomatic relations soon after Malta's independence. Both countries are members of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

and

Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...

. Italy has given full support to Malta's membership of the

History

Pre-independence relations

Malta and the Italian peninsula have a long history of relations given their proximity. Malta was part of the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

' Kingdom of Sicily and remained associated with the Italian kingdom until 1194. The Kingdom of Naples would be involved in the war against the French

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

of the island.

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

was the official language in Malta since the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

until the British control. In 1800 Malta became a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

jointly administered by Naples and the United Kingdom, although the latter had more influence. By 1813 the island became a British

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

and thus moved outside the Italian sphere, although the presence of Italian culture and language remained strong. Indeed, Italian designs on the island were highlighted in April 1933, when on a visit to the island, Italian cabinet undersecretary

Francesco Giunta Francesco Giunta (21 March 1887 – 8 June 1971) was an Italian Fascist politician. A leading figure in the early years of fascism, he helped to build the movement in several regions of the country and was particularly active in Trieste. Duri ...

stated that he was on Italian soil and that the future of the island lay in complete union with Italy. The two countries clashed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when Italy bombed the island during the Siege of Malta. Malta's rejection of Mussolini's fascism and Nazi support led to Italy bombing Malta for two years between 1940 and 1942.

Independent relations

Italy was the first country to establish a diplomatic mission in Malta and the first to appoint a resident ambassador (since then resident at ''Villa Bel Air'' in

Ta' Xbiex Ta' Xbiex () is a locality and Local Council in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 2148 (estimated 2019) It is part of a small headland within the Marsamxett Harbour, right between the villages of Msida and Gżira. Etymology It ...

) after Malta achieved independence and became a full member of the UN. On December 1, 1964, that the first Italian ambassador presented his credentials to the governor general, Sir Maurice Dorman. In 1980, Malta entered into a neutrality agreement with Italy, under which Malta agreed not to enter into any alliance and Italy agreed to guarantee Malta's neutrality. Malta's relations with Italy have been described as "generally excellent".David Attard & Dominic Fenech
"The Law of the Sea and Jurisdictional Issues in the Mediterranean."
In ''Naval Policy and Strategy in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future''. Edited by John B. Hattendorf. London: Frank Cass, 2000. P. 362. . Accessed 2009-04-11.

Diplomatic relations

Italy has an embassy in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

. Malta has an embassy in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and 18 honorary consulates (in Bari,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

, Cagliari, Catania,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, Livorno,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Palermo,

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, Reggio Calabria, Savona, Syracuse,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Historical notable persons in Italian-Maltese relations

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

, painter * Alberto Pullicino, painter *

Pietro Paolo Floriani Pietro Paolo Floriani (1585–1638) was an Italian engineer and architect who designed military and theatrical buildings. Life and work Floriani was born on 26 April 1585 in the town of Macerata to Pompeo Floriani and Claudia Rotelli. In 1606 he ...

, architect, after whom

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

was named

Notable contemporary persons with double citizenship of Italy and Malta

Arnold Cassola Arnold Cassola is a Maltese and Italian independent politician, professor, author and editor of various books and academic papers. Cassola is a professor in Comparative Literature at the University of Malta. He has held elective office and pol ...

, politician *

Aidan Zammit Aidan Zammit is a musician from Sliema, Malta. He has lived in Italy since 1985. Biography He has worked as a composer, musician and singer with several artists, including Mike Francis, Niccolò Fabi, Andrea Bocelli, Nicola Piovani, Vincen ...

, musician * Samuel Deguara, basketball player

References

External links

Italian embassy in Valletta Directions of the Maltese representation in Italy
* Henry Frendo
Malta-Italy relations: then and now
''

Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

'', Sunday, July 21, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Italy-Malta relations

Bilateral relations of Malta