United States presidential visits to Southern Europe
# United States presidential visits to Southern Europe

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.

To date, 32 visits have been made to Italy, 20 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

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

### 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. Ulysses S. Grant met with Pope Leo XIII in the Vatican in 1878, during a world tour after leaving the presidency.

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.

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.

