United States presidential visits to Southern Europe

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Map of Europe featuring the countries of Southern Europe (highlighted in dark green) Southern Europe map green.png
Map of Europe featuring the countries of Southern Europe (highlighted in dark green)

Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Southern Europe. Woodrow Wilson became the first incumbent president to visit a Southern European country in January 1919 in the aftermath of World War I. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions during World War II and then the Cold War.

Contents

To date, 34 visits have been made to Italy, 23 to Vatican City, 11 to Spain, eight to Portugal, four to Greece, three to Bosnia and Herzegovina, three to Malta, three to Slovenia, two to Croatia, two to Kosovo, one to Albania, and one to Macedonia (now known as North Macedonia). Three were also made to Yugoslavia prior to its breakup during the early 1990s. Of the present-day nations in (or partly within) the region, all but Cyprus, San Marino, Andorra, Montenegro, and Serbia have been visited by a sitting American president.

Table of visits

PresidentDatesCountry or territory LocationsKey details
Woodrow Wilson [1] January 1–6, 1919Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy Rome, Genoa, Milan, Turin Met with King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando.
January 4, 1919Flag of the Papal States (1808-1870).svg Vatican Apostolic Palace Audience with Pope Benedict XV.
Franklin D. Roosevelt [2] December 8, 1943Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy Castelvetrano Visited Allied military installations.
December 8, 1943Flag of Malta (1943-1964).svg Malta Valletta Visited Allied military installations
February 2, 1945Flag of Malta (1943-1964).svg Malta Floriana Attended Malta Conference with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Dwight D. Eisenhower [3] December 4–6, 1959Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeInformal Visit. Met with President Giovanni Gronchi.
December 6, 1959Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John XXIII.
December 14–15, 1959Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece Athens Official Visit. Met with King Paul and Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis. Addressed the Greek Parliament.
December 21–22, 1959Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Spain Madrid Met with Generalísimo Francisco Franco.
May 19–20, 1960Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal Lisbon Official Visit. Met with President Américo Tomás
John F. Kennedy [4] July 1–2, 1963Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Rome,
Naples
Met with President Antonio Segni, Italian and NATO officials.
July 2, 1963Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Paul VI.
Lyndon B. Johnson [5] December 23, 1967Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giuseppe Saragat and Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
December 23, 1967Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Paul VI.
Richard Nixon [6] February 27–28, 1969Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giuseppe Saragat and Prime Minister Mariano Rumor and other officials.
March 2, 1969Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Paul VI.
September 27–30, 1970Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Rome,
Naples
Official Visit. Met with President Giuseppe Saragat. Visited NATO Southern Command.
September 28, 1970Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Paul VI.
September 30 – October 2, 1970Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia Belgrade,
Zagreb
State Visit. Met with President Josip Broz Tito.
October 2–3, 1970Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Spain MadridState Visit. Met with Generalissimo Francisco Franco.
December 13–14, 1971Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal Terceira Island Discussed international monetary problems with French president Georges Pompidou and Portuguese prime minister Marcelo Caetano.
June 18–19, 1974Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Lajes Field Met with President António de Spínola.
Gerald Ford [7] May 31 – June 1, 1975Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Spain MadridMet with Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Received keys to city from Mayor of Madrid, Miguel Angel García-Lomas Mata.
June 3, 1975Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giovanni Leone and Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
June 3, 1975Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Paul VI.
August 3–4, 1975Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia BelgradeOfficial Visit. Met with President Josip Broz Tito and Prime Minister Džemal Bijedić.
Jimmy Carter [8] June 19–24, 1980Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Rome,
Venice
Attended the 6th G7 summit. State Visit. Met with President Sandro Pertini.
June 21, 1980Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
June 24–25, 1980Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia BelgradeOfficial Visit. Met with President Cvijetin Mijatović.
June 25–26, 1980Flag of Spain (1977-1981).svg  Spain MadridOfficial Visit. Met with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez.
June 26–30, 1980Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal LisbonOfficial Visit. Met with President António Ramalho Eanes and Prime Minister Francisco de Sá Carneiro.
Ronald Reagan [9] June 7, 1982Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeState Visit. Met with President Sandro Pertini and Premier Giovanni Spadolini.
June 7, 1982Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
May 6–8, 1985Flag of Spain.svg  Spain MadridState Visit. Met with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Felipe González.
May 8–10, 1985Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal LisbonState Visit. Met with President António Ramalho Eanes and Prime Minister Mário Soares. Addressed the National Assembly.
June 3–11, 1987Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Venice,
Rome
Attended the 13th G7 summit. Met with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani.
June 6, 1987Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
George H. W. Bush [10] May 26–28, 1989Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Rome,
Nettuno
Met with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita.
May 27, 1989Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PaliceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
December 1–3, 1989Flag of Malta.svg  Malta Valletta,
Marsaxlokk
Attended the Summit Meeting with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Also met with Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami.
July 18–20, 1991Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Athens,
Souda Bay
Met with Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. Addressed U.S. and Greek military personnel.
October 29–30, 1991Flag of Spain.svg  Spain MadridMet with Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez Marquez and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Attended the opening session of the Middle East Peace Conference.
November 6–8, 1991Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeAttended the NATO Summit Meeting.
November 8, 1991Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
Bill Clinton [11] June 2–4, 1994Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Rome,
Nettuno
Met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. Visited U.S. Military Cemetery.
June 2, 1994Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
July 7–10, 1994Flag of Italy.svg  Italy NaplesAttended the 20th G7 summit. Met with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien and Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
December 2–3, 1995Flag of Spain.svg  Spain MadridAttended the European Union Summit Meeting.
January 13, 1996Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1998).svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Tuzla Met with President Alija Izetbegović. Addressed U.S. military personnel.
January 13, 1996Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia ZagrebMet with President Franjo Tudjman.
January 13, 1996Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Aviano Air Base Met with U.S. military personnel.
July 4–10, 1997Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Palma de Mallorca,
Madrid,
Granada
Vacationed with King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia. Attended the 15th NATO Summit Meeting.
December 22, 1997Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Aviano Air BaseStopped en route to and from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
December 22, 1997Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1998).svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo,
Tuzla
Met with the Bosnian Collective Presidency and Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavšić. Visited U.S. military personnel.
November 20–21, 1999Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Florence Attended conference on Progressive Governance for the 21st Century.
June 21–22, 1999Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Ljubljana Met with President Milan Kučan, Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović.
June 22, 1999Flag of North Macedonia.svg  Macedonia Skopje Met with President Kiro Gligorov. Addressed Kosovar refugees and NATO military personnel.
June 22, 1999Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Aviano Air BaseAddressed U.S. military personnel.
July 29–30, 1999Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Aviano Air BaseStopped en route to Sarajevo.
March 18, 2000Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Aviano Air BaseStopped en route to India.
July 30, 1999Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina SarajevoAttended Stability Pact Leaders Conference.
November 19–20, 1999Flag of Greece.svg  Greece AthensState Visit. Met with Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis.
November 23, 1999Flag of the United Nations.svg Kosovo Pristina,
Uroševac,
Camp Bondsteel
Met with Kosovar Transitional Council. Addressed the Albanian community and U.S. military personnel.
May 30 – June 1, 2000Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal LisbonAttended the U.S.-EU Summit Meeting. Met with Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. [12]
George W. Bush June 12–13, 2001Flag of Spain.svg  Spain MadridMet with King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister José María Aznar.
June 16, 2001Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Kranj Attended the summit meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Also met with Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek.
July 20–24, 2001Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Genoa,
Castel Gandolfo,
Rome
Attended the 27th G8 summit. Met with Pope John Paul II. Also met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
July 24, 2001Flag of the United Nations.svg Kosovo Camp BondsteelAddressed U.S. military personnel.
May 28, 2002Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope John Paul II.
May 27–28, 2002Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Attended the NATO Summit Meeting and inaugurated the NATO-Russia Council.
March 16, 2003Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Terceira IslandDiscussed the Iraq crisis with British prime minister Tony Blair, Spanish prime minister José María Aznar and Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Barroso.
June 4–5, 2004Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
June 4, 2004Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceMet with Pope John Paul II.
April 6–8, 2005Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City St. Peter's Basilica Attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
April 6–8, 2005Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
June 8–10, 2007Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
June 9, 2007Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Benedict XVI.
June 10, 2007Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Tirana Met with President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
April 4–5, 2008Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia ZagrebMet with President Stjepan Mesić.
June 9–10, 2008Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia LjubljanaMet with President Danilo Türk and Prime Minister Janez Janša. Attended the EU-US Summit Meeting.
June 11–13, 2008Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
June 13, 2008Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceMet with Pope Benedict XVI.
Barack Obama [13] July 8–10, 2009Flag of Italy.svg  Italy L'Aquila,
Rome
Attended the 35th G8 summit. Also met with the leaders of Angola, Algeria, Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and various international organizations.
July 10, 2009Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Benedict XVI.
November 19–20, 2010Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal LisbonAttended the NATO Summit Meeting and the U.S.-EU Summit Meeting. Met with President Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister José Sócrates.
March 27, 2014Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Francis. [14]
March 27, 2014Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Visited the Roman Colosseum.
July 9–10, 2016Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Madrid, Rota Met with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Also met with American military personnel stationed at Naval Station Rota.
November 15–16, 2016Flag of Greece.svg  Greece AthensState Visit. Met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Toured Acropolis and Acropolis Museum.
Donald Trump May 23–24, 2017Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
May 24, 2017Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Francis.
May 25–27, 2017Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Taormina Attended the 43rd G7 summit.
Joe Biden October 29, 2021Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAudience with Pope Francis.
October 29 –
November 1, 2021
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeMet with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Attended the G20 summit.
June 28–30, 2022Flag of Spain.svg  Spain MadridAttended the NATO Summit Meeting
June 13–15, 2024Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Borgo Egnazia Attended the 50th G7 summit.
Donald Trump April 25, 2025Flag of Italy.svg  Italy RomeTravelled for the funeral of Pope Francis, spent the night at Villa Taverna, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Italy.
April 26, 2025Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City Apostolic PalaceAttended the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square. [15]

Visits of former presidents

Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore each met (separately) with Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1855, as did Franklin Pierce in November 1857. [16] Ulysses S. Grant met with Pope Leo XIII in the Vatican in 1878, during a world tour after leaving the presidency. [17]

Theodore Roosevelt sought an audience with Pope Pius X in April 1910 while in Rome. The Pope agreed to see him, provided Roosevelt would not call on some Methodist missionaries in Rome. Roosevelt had no intention of meeting the missionaries, but he declined to submit to the pope's conditions and the interview did not take place. [18]

Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton accompanied President George W. Bush to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005.

See also

References

  1. "Travels of President Woodrow Wilson". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  2. "Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  3. "Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  4. "Travels of President John F. Kennedy". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  5. "Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  6. "Travels of President Richard M. Nixon". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  7. "Travels of President Gerald R. Ford". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  8. "Travels of President Jimmy Carter". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  9. "Travels of President Ronald Reagan". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  10. "Travels of President George H. W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  11. "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2011-10-16. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  12. "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  13. "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  14. Abdullah, Halimah (March 27, 2014). "Obama, Pope Francis meet for first time". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014.
  15. "World leaders from Trump to Zelensky to attend Pope's funeral". www.bbc.com. 2025-04-22. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  16. DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of US Presidents W.W. Norton 1989 ISBN   978-1-56980-286-1
  17. McFeely, William S. (1981). Grant: A Biography. Norton. pp. 466–467. ISBN   0-393-01372-3.
  18. Durant, John and Alice Pictorial History of American Presidents A. S. Barnes and Company 1955 p. 216