Italy and Armenia share strong ties since ancient times. The first contacts occurred between the Etruscan civilization and the Kingdom of Urartu in the 9th century BC. Next, the ties between the Roman Empire and Armenia are mentioned. Over the centuries, relations between the two cultures have continued due to numerous affinities, also from a religious point of view.
During the 20th century, the relations of friendship and solidarity were further strengthened. The Kingdom of Italy had already established intense contacts during the period of the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920). The mutual ties were so deep that, even when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, Italy was among the first to send large and timely aid to help the population, at the time of the serious earthquake that hit Armenia in 1988 (Spitak), which caused 30,000 victims.
Relations between the two countries entered a completely new phase following the independence of Armenia from the USSR in 1991. Italy was among the first States to recognize the independence of Armenia and established diplomatic relations between the two Countries on March 17, 1992. The 30th anniversary of these relations was celebrated in 2022.
The two Countries have intense relations in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. During these years, eleven Italian Ambassadors have been accredited to Armenia, eight of whom resided in Armenia:
• Federico DI ROBERTO (with residence in Moscow) – since May 12, 1993
• Emanuele SCAMMACCA (with residence in Moscow) – since February 1, 1996
• Giancarlo ARAGONA (with residence in Moscow) – since June 22, 1999
• Paolo Andrea TRABALZA – since September 8, 2000
• Marco CLEMENTE – since June 21, 2003
• Massimo LAVEZZO CASSINELLI – since March 15, 2007
• Bruno SCAPINI – since June 15, 2009
• Giovanni RICCIULLI – since November 25, 2013
• Vincenzo DEL MONACO – since March 26, 2018
• Alfonso DI RISO – since May 18, 2021
Since January 13, 2025, the Ambassador is Alessandro FERRANTI
In recent years there has been an increase in high-level official visits to the two Countries, starting with the State Visit of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on 30-31 July 2018, the first visit by an Italian Head of State to Armenia. Subsequent visits include:
• Election Observation Mission of the Italian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, led by the then Deputy President of the Senate, Paola Taverna (4-10 December 2018)
• Visit to Italy of the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan (17-19 September 2019)
• Armenian Parliamentary Delegation led by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan (26-30 October 2019)
• Visit to Italy of Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan (20-22 November 2019)
• Election Observation Mission of the Italian Delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe, led by the Hon. Paolo Grimoldi (June 20, 2021)
• State visit to Italy of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian (October 6-7, 2021)
• Official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi di Maio (April 2-3, 2022)
• Visit to Armenia of the Minister of Culture, Prof. Gennaro Sangiuliano (April 4, 2023)
• Working visit to Italy of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan (July 23-26, 2023)