Foreign relations of Italy

Foreign relations of the Italian Republic are the Italian government's external relations with the outside world. Located in Europe, Italy has been considered a major Western power since its unification in 1861. Its main allies are the NATO countries, the EU states and the G7 nations, three entities of which Italy is a founding member.

Italy has a particular role within the Christian world because Rome is the seat of the Pope and the center of the Catholic Church. Italy acts as a mediator in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has a lot of troops deployed in the middle east and all over the world for peacekeeping missions and for combating organized crime, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, piracy and terrorism. Italy is currently commanding various multinational forces. The country plays also a significant role in former colonies and territories of the Italian Empire and is considered a key player in the Mediterranean region.

The Risorgimento was the era 1830–1870 that saw the emergence of a national consciousness. Italians achieved independence from Austria, the House of Bourbon and from the Pope, securing national unification. The papacy called France to resist unification, fearing that giving up control of the Papal States would weaken the Church and allow the liberals to dominate conservative Catholics. Italy captured Rome in 1870 and later formed the Triple Alliance (1882) with Germany and Austria.

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