Italy–United Kingdom relations
Italy–United Kingdom relations, also known as Anglo–Italian relations or Italo–British relations, are the international relations between the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Bilateral relationships between Italy and the United Kingdom are warm and exceptionally strong. The Italian ambassador to the United Kingdom is Raffaele Trombetta since January 2018; the British ambassador to Italy is Jill Morris since July 2016. History. Diplomatic relations between Britain and Italy predate both Britain and Italy's unification, with diplomatic exchanges between the Papal States and England growing particularly heated during  the investiture disputes between kings William and John and their respective archbishops of Canterbury Anselm and Langton. The latter feud ended with John's excommunication being lifted in exchange for swearing his fealty to the papacy. Later, the Court of St. James hosted ambassadors from various states of the Italian peninsula, including those of the Kingdom of Sicily and Piedmont's Count Perron. The British government gave moral and diplomatic support to the "Risorgimento" (Unification of Italy) and the creation of the modern Italian state against considerable international opposition. The famed hero of unification, Giuseppe Garibaldi was widely celebrated in  Britain, with a peak in 1861. Twentieth century. Italy and Britain concluded the London Pact and entered a formal alliance on 26 April 1915. Following this, Britain, Italy, and the rest of the Allied Nations won the First World War. During that war, British intelligence subsidized Benito Mussolini's activism. After he rose to power on a fascist agenda, Mussolini was initially accommodated by Britain, with the Hoare-Laval Pact accepting the expansion of Italian Eritrea's sphere of influence over all of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia). However, the treaty's unpopularity forced Hoare's resignation, and future British governments showed  more opposition. Owing to Mussolini's Axis Pact between his Italy and Hitler's Germany, in 1940 Italy joined the Second World War on the side of Germany. Britain and Italy were thus at war through the early 1940s, until the Allied invasion of Sicily ended with Italy's defeat in 1943. The Italian government overthrew Mussolini in 1943 and signed an armistice with the Allies. Germany meanwhile invaded the northern half of Italy, released Mussolini, and set up the Italian Social Republic, a puppet regime that helped Germany fight against the Allies until it collapsed in spring 1945. The  United Kingdom and Italy now enjoy a warm and friendly relationship. Queen Elizabeth II has made four state visits to the Italian Republic during her reign, in 1961, 1980, 2000, and April 2014, when she was received by President Giorgio Napolitano. Cultural relations. Between 4 and 5 million British tourists visit Italy every year, while 1 million Italian tourists visit the UK. There are about 30,000 British nationals living in Italy, and 200,000 Italians living in the UK. In 2011, 7,100 Italian students were studying in UK universities, this is the seventh-highest figure amongst EU countries and fifteenth globally . Association football, in its modern form, was said to have been introduced to Italy by British expatriates during the 1880s. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, founded by Englishmen in 1893, was allegedly formed as a cricket club to represent England abroad. Three years later in 1896 a man named James Richardson Spensley arrived in Genoa introducing the football section of the club and becoming its first manager. Other evidence suggests that Edoardo Bosio, a merchant worker in the British textile industry had visited the United Kingdom and decided to introduce the sport in his homeland. He returned to Turin in  1887 and founded Torino Football and Cricket Club. Politics. Both states are members of the NATO, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the G7.