O CORDIALĂ RELAȚIE DIPLOMATICĂ: LUCREȚIU PĂTRĂȘCANU – RENATO BOVA SCOPPA, MINISTRUL ITALIEI LA BUCUREȘTI

Veronica Turcuș/h2>

Abstract:

The present study is based on unpublished documents from the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and wishes to highlight the cordial diplomatic relationship between Renato Bova Scoppa, the Italian minister in Bucharest and the communist leader Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu. The contacts between the two politicians took place in the context of Bova Scoppa's efforts to protect Italian interests in Romania after August 23, 1944. Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, then Minister of Justice in the second Sănătescu Government, discussed with the Italian diplomat the issue of the supporters of the Republic of Salò within the Italian community of Galați, which the Soviet occupation authorities intended to arrest and send to Siberia. During the talks, the position of the Kingdom of Italy as the legitimate representative of the Italian community in Romania was highlighted and accepted by both parties, being emphasized by the minister Bova Scoppa the interference of the authorities of Antonescu Regime with regard to the political option of the Italians in the country and their automatic assimilation, in certain cases, as supporters of the Italian Social Republic of Mussolini. The study also includes a nuanced presentation of the biography and political figure of the communist leader Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, with an emphasis on one aspect of his unhappy destiny: the relationship with the Italian communist Leo Valiani.

Keywords:

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Renato Bova Scoppa, Antonescu Regime, Italian Fascism, Leo Valiani.