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Key Facts: Concorso Diplomatico Exam

35 places

Segretario di Legazione in prova appointments in the 2026 bando

Gazzetta Ufficiale, 17 March 2026

50 questions

Items on the preliminary multiple-choice test

2026 MAECI bando

60 minutes

Time limit for the preliminary test

2026 MAECI bando

30/50

Minimum preliminary-test score

2026 MAECI bando

5 written papers

Three Italian subject papers and two foreign-language papers

2026 MAECI bando

No fee stated

Application-fee status in the 2026 bando

2026 MAECI bando

English MCQ adaptation

Independent study format, not the official sitting

OpenExamPrep

MAECI's 2026 competition recruits 35 Segretari di Legazione in prova through a 50-question preliminary test, five written papers, and an oral examination. This independent 100-question English MCQ bank reviews six official subject clusters while clearly adapting the official written, oral, and language-performance tasks.

Sample Concorso Diplomatico Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Concorso Diplomatico exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which principle was established at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) by Prince Klemens von Metternich and Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand to restore pre-revolutionary ruling dynasties across Europe?

A.The Principle of Popular Sovereignty

B.The Principle of Legitimacy (Principio di Legittimità)

C.The Principle of National Self-Determination

D.The Principle of Containment

Explanation: The Principle of Legitimacy (Principio di Legittimità), primarily championed by Talleyrand and supported by Metternich at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815), asserted that the only legitimate rulers of Europe were the hereditary monarchs who had occupied their thrones before the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

2Which diplomatic pact, concluded in Paris in September 1815 at the initiative of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, bound monarchs to govern according to Christian principles of charity, peace, and paternal authority?

A.The Quadruple Alliance

B.The Holy Alliance (Santa Alleanza)

C.The Treaty of Chaumont

D.The Quintuple Alliance

Explanation: The Holy Alliance (Santa Alleanza) was signed on 26 September 1815 in Paris by Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King Frederick William III of Prussia. It proclaimed a mutual obligation of Christian fraternity, whereas Great Britain declined to join.

3At which international congress in 1856 did Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, succeed in placing the 'Italian Question' onto the European diplomatic agenda following the Crimean War?

A.The Congress of Verona

B.The Congress of Paris (Congresso di Parigi)

C.The Congress of Berlin

D.The Conference of London

Explanation: At the Congress of Paris (1856), terminating the Crimean War in which the Kingdom of Sardinia had participated alongside Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire, Cavour presented a formal memorandum denouncing Austrian dominance and misgovernment in the Italian peninsula.

4What secret agreement of July 1858 between Napoleon III of France and Count Cavour laid the military and territorial groundwork for the Second Italian War of Independence?

A.The Treaty of Turin

B.The Plombières Agreement (Accordi di Plombières)

C.The Armistice of Villafranca

D.The Pact of London

Explanation: In July 1858 at Plombières-les-Bains, Napoleon III and Cavour secretly agreed that France would intervene militarily on Piedmont's side if Austria attacked, with the goal of creating a Kingdom of Upper Italy, in exchange for Nice and Savoy being ceded to France.

5In Otto von Bismarck's post-1871 alliance system, what was the primary strategic objective of the Reinsurance Treaty (Rückversicherungsvertrag) of 1887 with Russia?

A.To partition the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire between Germany and Russia

B.To prevent a two-front war by ensuring Russian neutrality if France attacked Germany

C.To form a tripartite military alliance against the British Empire in Central Asia

D.To compel Austria-Hungary to surrender Galicia to the Russian Empire

Explanation: The secret Reinsurance Treaty of 1887 was Bismarck's masterpiece of diplomatic reinsurance: it guaranteed benevolent neutrality between Germany and Russia unless Germany attacked France or Russia attacked Austria-Hungary, thereby neutralizing the risk of a Franco-Russian encirclement.

6When Italy joined the Triple Alliance (Triplice Alleanza) with Germany and Austria-Hungary in May 1882, which formal declaration was appended by Italian Foreign Minister Pasquale Stanislao Mancini?

A.The Mancini Declaration, stating that the alliance could under no circumstances be directed against Great Britain

B.The Balkan Clausule, guaranteeing Italian naval intervention in the Dardanelles

C.The Irredentist Protocol, renouncing all claims to Trento and Trieste

D.The Mediterranean Pact, pledging immediate assistance against French expansion in Tunisia

Explanation: The Mancini Declaration (Dichiarazione Mancini), appended as a formal ministerial reservation to the Triple Alliance treaty of 20 May 1882, stated that the alliance's stipulations could in no case be regarded as directed against Great Britain, reflecting Italy's absolute vulnerability to British naval power in the Mediterranean.

7Under Article VII of the 1887 renewal of the Triple Alliance treaty, what obligation was imposed on Austria-Hungary regarding territorial modifications in the Balkans?

A.Austria-Hungary was forbidden from maintaining commercial relations with Serbia

B.Any temporary or permanent occupation of Balkan territories required prior agreement and reciprocal territorial compensation for Italy

C.Austria-Hungary was required to transfer South Tyrol to Italy in exchange for occupying Bosnia-Herzegovina

D.Austria-Hungary was granted unilateral rights to annex all Ottoman territories without notice

Explanation: Article VII of the renewed Triple Alliance treaty (negotiated by Count di Robilant in 1887) established that if Austria-Hungary or Italy were forced to occupy territories in the Balkans or Aegean, they had to do so on the basis of prior agreement and reciprocal territorial compensation (principio dei compensi). Austria's unilateral annexation of Bosnia in 1908 without compensating Italy breached this spirit.

8Which international conference in 1906 settled the First Moroccan Crisis (Tangier Crisis) by reaffirming Moroccan sovereignty and open-door commerce while placing police control under Franco-Spanish supervision?

A.The Algeciras Conference (Conferenza di Algeciras)

B.The Agadir Conference

C.The Berlin West Africa Conference

D.The Lausanne Conference

Explanation: The Algeciras Conference of January–April 1906 resolved the First Moroccan Crisis provoked by Kaiser Wilhelm II's visit to Tangier. Germany found itself diplomatically isolated (supported only by Austria-Hungary), while Italy, Britain, Russia, and the United States supported the French position.

9Under the secret Treaty of London (Patto di Londra) signed on 26 April 1915, what territorial promises did the Triple Entente make to Italy in exchange for entering World War I against the Central Powers?

A.Corsica, Nice, Savoy, and Tunisia

B.Trentino, Cisalpine Tyrol (Alto Adige up to the Brenner Pass), Trieste, Gorizia, Gradisca, Istria, parts of Dalmatia, and the port of Vlorë (Valona)

C.Only Lombardy-Venetia and the Dodecanese islands

D.Fiume (Rijeka) and the entirety of Albania as an incorporated crown territory

Explanation: The Treaty of London promised Italy the Trentino, Alto Adige to the Brenner frontier, the Julian March (Trieste, Gorizia, Istria), northern Dalmatia, full sovereignty over the Dodecanese and Valona, plus a protectorate over central Albania. Crucially, the city of Fiume was explicitly assigned to Croatia/Slavs in the text.

10Which article of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) made Germany and its allies accept responsibility for causing the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals had been subjected as a consequence of the war?

A.Article 10

B.Article 48

C.Article 231

D.Article 301

Explanation: Article 231, later widely called the 'War Guilt Clause', supplied the treaty's legal basis for reparations by recording Germany's and its allies' responsibility for specified Allied loss and damage. The article did not literally say that Germany alone bore exclusive moral responsibility for starting the war.

About the Concorso Diplomatico Exam

The 2026 Concorso Diplomatico is MAECI's public competition for 35 appointments as Segretario di Legazione in prova. Its official process combines a preliminary MCQ test, five long-form written papers, and a broad oral examination with foreign-language conversations and practical IT. This bank provides independent English-language MCQ practice for the named competition and its published subject areas. It is not an official translation, an official-format simulation, or a substitute for Italian essay writing, oral examination, public-speaking, or foreign-language performance practice.

Exam sponsor: Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (MAECI). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

The official preliminary test has 50 questions in 60 minutes on international-relations history, public international and EU law, economics, English, and logical reasoning. Correct answers score +1, wrong answers −0.25, and omitted answers 0; 30/50 qualifies. Five digital written papers follow: three 5-hour papers in Italian and two 3-hour foreign-language papers. Admission to the oral requires an overall written average of at least 70/100, at least 70/100 in English, and at least 60/100 in each other paper. The oral pass mark is 60/100.

Time Limit

60 minutes for the preliminary test; 5 hours each for the history, law, and economics written papers; 3 hours each for English and the chosen second-language paper

Passing Score

30/50 preliminary; written average at least 70/100, English at least 70/100, every other written paper at least 60/100; oral at least 60/100

Exam / Certification Fees

No application fee is stated in the 2026 bando

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

25 local questions (not an official percentage)

Storia delle Relazioni Internazionali a partire dal Congresso di Vienna

Concert diplomacy, alliance systems, world wars and settlements, the Cold War, decolonization, European integration, and later multilateral developments.

25 local questions (not an official percentage)

Diritto Internazionale Pubblico e dell'Unione Europea

Sources, treaties, responsibility, dispute settlement, diplomatic and consular law, the United Nations, and EU constitutional and external-relations law.

25 local questions (not an official percentage)

Politica Economica e Cooperazione Economica, Commerciale e Finanziaria Multilaterale

Microeconomics, macroeconomics, trade, international monetary relations, EU economic governance, development, and climate cooperation.

15 local questions (not an official percentage)

Materie orali di diritto italiano e ordinamento diplomatico-consolare

Italian constitutional and administrative law, state accounting, civil and private international law, consular functions, and MAECI organization.

5 local questions (not an official percentage)

Lingua Inglese e Terminologia Diplomatica

Diplomatic English used for accreditation, correspondence, negotiations, and treaty interpretation.

5 local questions (not an official percentage)

Ragionamento Logico

Deduction, conditional logic, sequencing, argument flaws, and quantitative reasoning.

Preparing for the Concorso Diplomatico Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 30/50 preliminary; written average at least 70/100, English at least 70/100, every other written paper at least 60/100; oral at least 60/100
Assessment: The official preliminary test has 50 questions in 60 minutes on international-relations history, public international and EU law, economics, English, and logical reasoning. Correct answers score +1, wrong answers −0.25, and omitted answers 0; 30/50 qualifies. Five digital written papers follow: three 5-hour papers in Italian and two 3-hour foreign-language papers. Admission to the oral requires an overall written average of at least 70/100, at least 70/100 in English, and at least 60/100 in each other paper. The oral pass mark is 60/100.
Time limit: 60 minutes for the preliminary test; 5 hours each for the history, law, and economics written papers; 3 hours each for English and the chosen second-language paper
Exam / certification fees: No application fee is stated in the 2026 bando Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

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Concorso Diplomatico: Suggested Study Strategy

1Use the annual bando and attached syllabus as the controlling scope; MAECI does not publish percentage weights for the subject areas.

2Practice timed logical-reasoning sets as well as history, law, economics, and English because all five appear in the preliminary test.

3Prepare long-form arguments separately: the official history, law, and economics papers last five hours and cannot be simulated by this MCQ bank.

4Build active speaking and writing practice in English and the chosen second language; terminology recognition alone is insufficient for the official papers and oral conversations.

5Review Italian public and administrative law, state accounting, private international law, consular functions, geography, current affairs, and practical IT for the oral examination.

Frequently Asked Questions

What role does the 2026 Concorso Diplomatico recruit for?

The official 2026 MAECI bando offers 35 places as Segretario di Legazione in prova, the entry rank of Italy's diplomatic career.

What are the preliminary-test format and scoring rules?

The preliminary test contains 50 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 60 minutes. A correct answer scores 1 point, a wrong answer deducts 0.25, and an omitted answer scores zero. Candidates need at least 30/50 to qualify.

What follows the preliminary test?

Candidates take five digital written papers: history, international/EU law, and economics for five hours each, followed by English and a chosen French, Spanish, or German paper for three hours each. The oral then covers the written subjects and additional Italian-law, accounting, consular, geography, language, current-affairs speaking, and IT areas.

What are the degree, age, attempt, and fee rules?

The 2026 bando accepts any recognized laurea magistrale, laurea specialistica, or equivalent old-system degree. Candidates generally must be no older than 35, subject to statutory extensions, and must meet citizenship, rights, and psychophysical requirements. Four failed completed written rounds since the 2003 competition are disqualifying. The bando does not state an application fee.

Does this practice bank reproduce the official examination?

No. It is independent English-language MCQ study material for the named exam and its topics. It is not an official translation or format simulation and cannot replace Italian essay, oral, public-speaking, or foreign-language performance practice.