Italy in the White House
Gallery
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Neo-classical Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi produced busts of many leaders of the American Revolution including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. This bust of President George Washington was modeled during the first half of the 1790s and is part of the White House Collection.
White House Collection/White House Historical Association -
Historian William Seale describes the original architectural style of the White House as Anglo-Palladian, evolving after the 1902 Roosevelt renovation into a Palladian villa scheme with loggias at each side leading to the East and West Wings. Charles McKim, the lead architect for the Roosevelt renovation, was instrumental in establishing the American Academy in Rome.
Library of Congress -
Carusi’s Saloon, operated by former U.S. Marine Band member Gaetano Carusi and his family, functioned as a popular entertainment venue and music hall in early Washington. Carusi’s hosted several inaugural balls from the administrations of President John Quincy Adams to President James Buchanan. Above is an invitation to an inaugural ball for President William Henry Harrison held at Carusi’s Saloon on March 4, 1841.
Library of Congress -
On July 4, 1861, Union troops marched past the White House in a review held at the outbreak of the Civil War. Washingtonians gathered to view the parade along Lafayette Square while President Abraham Lincoln, his Cabinet, and General Winfield Scott watched the troops from a platform in front of the White House. One of the Union regiments to parade past was the 39th New York Volunteer Infantry, also known as the “Garibaldi Guard.” Inspired by Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi, this unit consisted of soldiers of Italian, German, Swiss, Hungarian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese backgrounds.
Library of Congress -
In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant hired Sicilian Valentino Melah to serve as White House steward. In this image, Melah (lower left corner) directs one of his famed 29-course formal dinners in the State Dining Room in 1871.
White House Collection/White House Historical Association -
Along with Italian influences in the United States, Italians too have been influenced by American culture and personalities. Pietro Casini was an Italian merchant who lived in Florence. Outside his “Magazzino Roosevelt” storefront, an homage to the former president, Casini was photographed in 1915 dressed as President Theodore Roosevelt along with a United State flag and small picture of President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress -
During and after the First World War, aviation became a shared U.S. and Italian interest. Many Italian aviators visited the U.S. In September 1917, Italian aviators strewed flowers across the White House lawn during their flight. Taking off from Virginia, the plane in the image above landed in Potomac Park near the White House after showcasing aerial feats.
Library of Congress -
In 1921, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlo Schanzer and Ambassador of Italy to the United States Vittorio Rolandi Ricci, joined President Warren G. Harding and First Lady Florence Harding at the unveiling of a statue of Italian poet Dante Alighieri in Meridian Hill Park. Though President Harding did not speak at the dedication, he received tremendous applause from the assembled crowd. American and Italian bands performed at the dedication ceremony.
Library of Congress -
On December 8, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with Generals Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton, visited the Allied airfield at Castelvetrano, Sicily, on his way home from conferences in Cairo and Tehran.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has made at least one official trip to Italy, fostering goodwill and meeting with Italian heads of state during their visits. In this photograph, President John F. Kennedy receives a warm welcome from enthusiastic Italian crowds in July 1963.
National Archives and Records Administration -
While delivering a July 1963 speech on the Campidoglio, the heart of ancient Rome, President John F. Kennedy stands before symbols characteristic of Roman antiquity.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
Wide shot with point of view from the White House, showing President Lyndon B. Johnson speaking from a podium at the State Arrival Ceremony in honor of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro on April 20, 1965. Nearby, an Honor Guards stands in formation, along with press and visitors behind a cordon at left.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
President Giovanni Leone of Italy and Mrs. Vittoria Leone arrive at the White House for a State Visit on September 25, 1974. They were greeted below the South Portico by President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford. During the visit, President Ford announced tentative plans to travel to Italy. Before the State Dinner, President Leone and his wife visited the National Gallery of Art, viewing Venetian drawings on display, as well as the permanent collection of Italian art.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
This photo depicts a White House State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti of Italy held on December 6, 1976. The menu featured filet of red snapper meuniere, wild rice croquettes, and chocolate souffle. In his remarks, President Gerald R. Ford said, “Historians point out that Thomas Jefferson, in writing the Declaration of Independence, drew on the wisdom of his Italian friend, Filippo Mazzei, in the drafting of several very, now immortal phrases. . . The very name America commemorates an Italian.” The Italian Prime Minister during his remarks (pictured) likewise noted, “Your country offers us familiar images and echoes. We can see the classical aspects of Palladian inspiration in your Nation's Capital.”
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
First Lady Nancy Reagan, President Ronald Reagan, and Frank Sinatra entertain guests in the East Room following a State Dinner in honor of President Alessandro Pertini of Italy on March 25, 1982.
White House Historical Association -
On June 13, 1987, Air Force One flew President Ronald Reagan from Venice to Rome following the Venice Summit. Note the Italian Honor Guard in the foreground as Air Force One prepares for takeoff.
National Archives and Records Administration -
President Barack Obama with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the East Room of the White House on April 17, 2015.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza -
Connections between Italy and the White House are also found in objects in the White House. Italian “statuary marble” mantels were installed in 1819 following the rebuilding of the White House after its burning by the British in 1814. Two of these mantels were originally located in the east and west ends of the State Dining Room. During the 1902 Roosevelt renovation of the White House, they were moved to the Green and Red Rooms, where they remain today.
White House Historical Association
About this Gallery
For more than 200 years, the White House and presidents have been a focal point for exchanges between Italy and the United States.From political philosophy and architecture to art and music, these interactions have facilitated cultural appreciation on both sides. Examples of these exchanges are depicted in the following gallery.
