ROME, May 7 (Xinhua): The detente between Italy and France for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death did not last long, with diplomatic and political relations between the two countries quickly returning to their usual prickly state.
Italy and France have a long history of challenging relations, but 2018 was particularly intense.
The countries have sparred over the treatment of asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, Europe's role in the civil war raging in Libya, and the fate of a multi-billion euro high-speed rail link between the Italian city of Turin and Lyon in France. In February, France recalled its ambassador to Rome after Luigi Di Maio, one of Italy's two deputy prime ministers, traveled to Paris to meet with the leaders of France's "Yellow Vests" movement that is calling for the ouster of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Some analysts said the problems have their roots in the history.
"Everyone can agree that the problems between Italy and France are not new, that they have deep historical antecedents," Giuseppe Sacco, an international relations professor at Rome's LUISS University, told Xinhua. "What we are seeing now is built upon generations of animosity."
A rare show of unity seemed to come when Italian President Sergio Mattarella met with Macron in Amboise, France, at the site of Leonardo's tomb. Leonardo was born near the city of Florence in Italy, and he spent most of his life in Florence, Rome and Milan -- all Italian cities. But he moved to Amboise in 1516 at the age of 64, and he spent the final three years of his life there in the service of French King Francis I.
"The bond between our two countries is indestructible," Macron said after his summit with Mattarella. That spirit did not last long, however.
Italian political leaders soon accused the French of trying to claim Leonardo as French after a French television program described Leonardo as a "French genius." Soon after, Italian Minister of Culture Alberto Bonisoli refused to recognize an agreement concluded by the his country's previous government to loan two precious works of the famed artist to the Louvre Museum as part of a celebration of Leonardo's life. Though most of Leonardo's works are in Italy, his most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, is in Paris.
The rising tensions between the two countries come on the eve of the European Parliament elections later this month. Nationalist and populist parties in both countries are expected to increase their presence in the legislative body.
According to Fulco Lanchester, professor of comparative constitutional law at La Sapienza University in Rome, relations between Italy and France have had as many high points as low points.
Lanchester noted that these countries are two of the six original founding members of what has evolved into the European Union. Additionally, they were among the first members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and of what is now the Group of Seven (G7) countries. Rome and Paris, the two national capitals, are exclusively twinned cities.
"The countries have their problems but they come together and collaborate when it is most needed," Lanchester concluded.
