Scheda Pubblicazione

Dettaglio

• Autore/i
  Vidic, F.
• Titolo pubblicazione
  “L’Italia è come la Giordania paese mediterraneo”: lo stabilimento della Missione diplomatica italiana ad Amman
• Titolo giornale o rivista in cui è pubblicata
  Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali
• Luogo pubblicazione
  Roma
• Numero di serie del libro o giornale
  86/3
• Mese
  07
• Da pagina
  413
• A pagina
  422
• Abstract
  As revealed from the partly unpublished diplomatic documents examined for this research, the opening of the Italian diplomatic mission in Amman in the summer of 1949 was the result of a negotiation lasted just over two years and undertaken in the aftermath of the Paris peace treaty, which opened a new phase for Italian foreign policy. The political leaders of the time, De Gasperi, Sforza and Moro, were determined to create new relations of friendship and collaboration with the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The young Hashemite kingdom also sought to extend its network of international relations, with the aim of strengthening its independence and pursuing the designs of the “Greater Syria” cherished by King Abdullah. Italy initially did not intend to open a new diplomatic mission in Amman: for this reason it proposed accrediting firstly the consul general in Jerusalem, and then the minister of Italy in Baghdad, as a representative in Transjordan. Considering the delays in negotiations with Iraq, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then decided to appoint the consul in Jerusalem, Giacomo Silimbani, as chargé d’affaires in Amman. He started relations with the Hashemite court, obtained the restitution of the Italian assets seized during the second world war and was able to win the trust of the local authorities. In 1948, the Palestinian question accelerated the definition of Italian-Jordanian relations. Rome, careful to maintain a balanced position in the Middle East, after recognizing de facto the State of Israel decided to open a legation in Amman, despite the small size of the country (then with only 300.000 inhabitants) and of the Italian interests. Pier Luigi La Terza, appointed Minister in Amman, presented his credentials to Abdullah on August 14, 1949. The Italian diplomat described the king with words of praise and admiration even after the his death at the hands of a Palestinian militant in 1951.