TWO CENTURIES OF THE ITALIAN – SERBIAN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS (19TH – 21ST CENTURY)

SRETENOVIĆ Stanislav (Stanislav Sretenović PhD, Full Research Professor, Institute of contemporary history, Belgrade), stanislav.sretenovic@eui.eu

The history of Italo-Serbian diplomatic, i.e., political, economic and cultural relations in the 19th and 20th centuries can be seen in two ways: as a series of events and processes that would acquire their full meaning only with the accession of Serbia to the european Union where Italy is one of the founders and represents one of the key actors; or, as a series of ups and downs in relations, unexpected events and processes, accidental and ideologically orientated contacts of individuals and groups, accurate or inaccurate Italian perceptions of Serbs and vice versa, which in fact did little to dispel mutual stereotypes and help establish a deeper relationship between the two peoples and their states

Keywords: Serbia, Italy, Serbs, Italians, history of Serbo-Italian relations, diplomacy, Giuseppe Mazzini, Great Wars