The President, Mary McAleese, has met the Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
A spokesperson for the President said they had a very good meeting which lasted over 30 minutes.
The discussed a range of issues common to both Ireland and Italy, including the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
Earlier, Mrs McAleese said that the Irish Saint Columbanus would be a very appropriate choice as a patron saint of the European Union.
The President was speaking on a visit to the monastery St Columbanus founded in Bobbio in northern Italy.
The idea of making St Columbanus a co-patron saint of the EU was first raised by Archbishop Sean Brady at an Irish Bishops' conference in Rome last year.
