Obama Visit in Italy

Rome, March 28, 2014. Air Force One left Fiumicino Airport shortly after 11am, bound for Riyadh: with that, Barack Obama's four-day European tour comes to a close, as the president continues on to Saudi Arabia.

In Riyadh, Obama has two public appointments on the schedule: a meeting and dinner with King Abdullah at his desert camp, a 30-minute helicopter ride from the Saudi capital. There, the president of the United States will reaffirm his commitment to a transition in Syria and his intention to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program.

After stops in Holland and Belgium, the European tour closes with a visit to Italy that lasted just over 24 hours - brief, but packed with commitments. It began with a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis, continued with President Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace, and ended with a meeting at Villa Madama with premier Renzi. Once his formal meetings were done, the American president fit in a visit to the Colosseum and closed his Roman day with a dinner at Villa Taverna, residence of the U.S. ambassador, also attended by Fiat chairman John Elkann.

The Vatican

With Pope Francis: "Wonderful to meet you"

The visit begins at the Vatican, where Pope Francis welcomes Obama with a simple "Welcome". Obama is informal too, inviting the Pope to the White House "to visit the garden as well" - the garden where some seeds he donated to the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo now grow. Francis replies: "Why not?" The conversation between the two lasts about fifty minutes. Among the topics discussed, the Vatican press office announced, were "the exercise of rights to religious freedom, to life and to conscientious objection, as well as the issue of immigration reform." The statement concluded by noting "the shared commitment to the eradication of human trafficking in the world."

The Quirinale Palace

Breakfast with Napolitano

Immediately after comes the meeting with Giorgio Napolitano. Obama describes the head of state as "a strong statesman - Italy is lucky to have him." The two share a "long and friendly conversation," later extended to the delegations of both countries and followed by breakfast.

Villa Madama

Confidence in Renzi

Then comes the meeting at Villa Madama with Matteo Renzi. The one-hour talk with the Italian prime minister leaves Obama with confidence in the government: he is impressed by the "energy" of the former mayor of Florence and convinced Renzi "will carry the country forward," and that a new generation of leaders is "good for Italy and the EU." Renzi, who had been welcomed at the White House as "first citizen" - as Obama recalled, pronouncing the words in Italian - returns the compliment, calling the U.S. president a "source of inspiration" for him and his staff, and the United States a "model." But he doesn't hold back either: "Yes we can now applies to Italy too - he says - we have no more excuses, and to Italians I say: let's stop making excuses. We have to change ourselves."

The talk with the premier

Europe, growth and austerity

Obama spends more than an hour with the prime minister. Many issues are on the table, starting with the European Union, then Ukraine, NATO, defense cuts. The long conversation also leaves room to ask for further U.S. support on the marò case and to thank the U.S. for the support given so far. For his part, the U.S. president praises the "intelligent actions of the ECB" under Mario Draghi, which have allowed Europe to make progress, and adds that the debate between "growth and austerity is a sterile debate. Public finances need to be in order, but the more you grow, the more the accounts fall into order," Obama says. Renzi nods and repeats that Europe needs growth, and that his goal is "to change Italy in order to change Europe."

The last stop

The visit to the Colosseum

The president of the United States then moves on to the Colosseum, emptied of tourists for the occasion. "Amazing, incredible," Obama calls it, adding: "It's bigger than some of today's baseball stadiums!" Finally, he returns to Villa Taverna, residence of the U.S. ambassador to Italy, for an official dinner. Among the guests is John Elkann, chairman of Fiat, which had by then tied its fortunes to America's Chrysler: "A very positive meeting," the businessman said on his way out.