HCMC – The Consulate General of Italy in HCMC has introduced the book “Italian Consulate in Saigon”, detailing the establishment of a diplomatic representative office during the colonial era, in celebration of its 10th anniversary in the city.
The book launch took place yesterday, December 6, at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in District 4, HCMC.
It gathered many distinguished guests, including Marco della Seta, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, Enrico Padula, consul General of Italy in HCMC, Tran Phuoc Anh, director of the HCMC Department of Foreign Affairs, and Cu Thi Dung, representative of the National Archives Center II.
In his opening remarks at the event, Enrico Padula emphasized that the publication of this research, authored by Dr. Christopher Denis-Delacour, provides valuable historical depth to the relationship between the Vietnamese and the Italians.
This work is expected to deepen the understanding of the historical ties between the two countries and inspire further research into the impact of diplomacy on communities, he added.
One notable historical milestone highlighted in the book is the establishment of the first Italian Consulate in Saigon. On July 16, 1868, in Florence, King Victor Emmanuel II signed the appointment of Hilaire Lafon as Italy’s first consul in Saigon.
A normal administrative act on the surface, in reality a significant step in an international context of rare complexity and delicacy, which opens the study on the first Italian Consulate in Saigon by Prof. Denis-Delacour, carried out on the basis of documents from the National Archives of Vietnam in HCMC, as well as documentation from the Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome.
For the characteristics mentioned, and for the history that follows, the Italian consular presence in Indochina presents some profiles of great interest, which also go beyond the historical-diplomatic dimension.
