Abstract

This paper looks at the key role played by Fabio Luca Cavazza in the development of cultural relations between the US and Italy in the early Cold War, by using an unexplored archival source, namely the personal papers of Cavazza himself. The Department of State and the Eisenhower administration opposed a government which included the socialists. However, thanks to the special relationship between him and Arthur Schlesinger jr., Cavazza was able to revive the issue, showing how it was in tune with the guidelines of Kennedy's «New Frontier». In 1963, the US President supported the formation of the first Center-left government despite the opposition of many in the State Department.