Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy traveled to Mar-a-Lago to visit President-elect Donald J. Trump for an informal meeting on Saturday, three people with knowledge of the trip said.
The trip comes just a few days before Ms. Meloni is set to host President Biden in Rome for an official visit to Italy and the Vatican on January 9-12.
Ms. Meloni and Mr. The Trumps have expressed mutual appreciation in the past, and her trip is one of the first few visits by a foreign leader to the president-elect’s Florida estate since his election. The meeting boosts the hopes of supporters of Ms. Meloni that the conservative Italian prime minister will become the best ally of Mr. Trump in Europe.
Much of that role will involve mediating tensions between other European leaders and Mr. Trump, who has threatened to launch a trade war with the continent as well as reduce US support for some NATO countries and Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The agenda for the meeting was unclear Saturday night, but observers expected the two leaders to discuss these issues.
Another possible issue, according to observers, is the detention in Iran of a prominent Italian reporter, Cecilia Sala. It came days after Italy arrested, at the request of the United States, an Iranian suspected of supplying drone parts to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran routinely detains foreigners and dual citizens to exchange them for money and people.
A person briefed on the meeting said Ms. Meloni had pushed aggressively for this.
She also has a good relationship with Elon Musk, which her supporters hope will boost her international standing once Mr. Trump becomes president.
Since his election, Mr. Trump welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a champion of “illiberal democracy,” to Mar-a-Lago, as well as Argentina’s flamboyant right-wing president, Javier Millay. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the first Group of Seven leader to visit Mr. Trump in Florida after the election, after threatening to impose tariffs on Canada.
Maggie Haberman contributed to the report.
