When Matteo Renzi first met Barack Obama at the White House in January 2010, it was a fleeting encounter. The youthful mayor of Florence, now Italy's 41 year-old prime minister, was in Washington to attend a conference of US mayors as a foreign guest, and the pair barely spoke.

But this week, more than five years later, Mr Obama is planning a far more lavish welcome for Mr Renzi, hosting him at a state dinner at the White House, possibly the last of his presidency.

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Source: https://www.ft.com/