LE RELAZIONI ITALIA-CINA E IL CONTRIBUTO DEI CATTOLICI (1949-1992)

This thesis aims at reconstructing and analysing the contribution of the Italian Catholics to the relations between Italy and the People’s Republic of China during the Cold War, examining the political, economic, and religious motivations that inspired the actions of important Catholic political figures, such as Giorgio La Pira, Amintore Fanfani, Aldo Moro, Vittorino Colombo, and Giulio Andreotti. This thesis shows how some Italian Catholics were able to overcome not only the rigid division of communism and anticommunism, but also the geographical and cultural distance, to develop a fruitful dialogue between two ideologically, politically, and economically different realities, such as Italy and China.