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This essay deals with the topic of relations between India and Italy since the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 until the end of WWII. After an introduction regarding the long history of relations between Italians and Indians, the study focuses above all on the analysis of the Italian government's attitude towards the Indian nationalist movement during the liberal and fascist period. It was during Mussolini's rule, with his growing interest in extending Italian political and economic influence to the Middle East and the Islamic world, that the need to pay attention to Gandhi's and Nehru's movement began to grow. Italy's objective was to nurture relations and contacts with Indian nationalism, anticipating some chance that India would gain self-government. When, in the second half of the 1930s, relations between Italy and Great Britain deteriorated, Italy kept in touch with the most extremist anti-British nationalist leaders, such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Iqbāl Shedai. The last part of the essay focuses on the different views by the powers of the Axis on the possibility of India's independence, and on their attempts to destabilize British India during WWII. In particular, the Italian point of view on how to use Indian nationalists and on the emerging pro-Pakistan movement is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]