Trent’anni di relazioni diplomatiche tra l’Italia e Taiwan. (1949 -1979)

The research analyzes thirty years of diplomatic relations between Italy and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The period under consideration goes from December 1949 - when the government of the Republic of China formally moved its capital to the island of Taiwan - until 1979, the year of an Italian parliamentary mission that will change the course of relations between Rome and Taipei. The paper aims to describe the path through which Italian institutions have developed relationships with a state entity that has unique and peculiar characteristics. The research reconstructs the relations between Taiwan and Italy, highlighting both the dynamics and the actors that fueled the commercial, political, and institutional exchanges between the two countries. The documents from the MAECI Historical Diplomatic Archive were mainly used but also sources from the archives of associations that supported Taiwanese interests in Italy, and documents never made public until now, coming from the archives of the Italian Representative Office in Taipei. The correspondence in unpublished documents and the activities of the associations and informal groups that have promoted Taiwanese interests in Italy represent a privileged observatory for understanding both the approach of Italian diplomacy towards Taiwan and the ambitions of the island's government in the international arena.