Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI of Spain kick off their state visit to Italy – as they make an appearance at art school in Rome

Queen Letizia of Spain wrapped up warm in a chic winter ensemble – as she and her husband kicked off their trip to Italy today.

The royal, 52, joined King Felipe VI on their first stop in Rome, where the pair dropped by an art school – the Royal Academy of Spain – to meet with the Hispanitas Italiano Association for its 50th anniversary.

It marked the beginning of the couple’s two-day state visit, as they chatted with fellows of the Academy and took in works made by last year’s students.

The Hispanitas Italiano Association was founded in 1973 with the aim of promoting exchanges and meetings between Italian researchers who are dedicated to studying the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.

Letizia channelled the festive season in an all-white outfit consisting of a trench coat, trouser suit, and a scarf. 

Complementing her ivory tones were golden heels, and a metallic clutch – while Felipe, 56, opted for a simple black coat and charcoal grey suit.

The mother-of-two wore her sleek chestnut tresses down in a straightened style, and added a pop of warm colour to her make-up.

The event ended with a reception for Spanish community at the Montorio Palace, the residence of the Spanish Embassy in Italy.

Some 500 Spanish citizens were in attendance, including businessmen, teachers, artists, athletes and scientists.

The King thanked everyone for coming ‘to our – and your – embassy in Rome, for this warm welcome to a country so close, near and dear, where, without a doubt, you have integrated and where you feel welcomed’.

He concluded: ‘We are very happy to be able to meet you and greet you personally and we are looking forward to you sharing your experiences here with us.’

Earlier today, Letizia was wrapped up in a knee-length black coat with a belted waist as she prepared to board the plane at Madrid Airport.

Dressed in navy, wide-leg trousers and a black turtle neck sweater, teamed with block-heel boots, she was prepared for the chilly winter temperatures.

Letizia, who shares two children with Felipe looked glamorous with her shoulder-length, brown hair in a classic blow dry, which she brushed behind her ears to reveal a pair of gold star earrings. 

She kept her make-up simple for the event, wearing little more than a rose-coloured tint on her lips and a warm bronze eyeshadow. 

Felipe, meanwhile, was also dressed for the cold in a black overcoat. He also wore a sophisticated suit with a pale blue shirt and a pink tie.

The smiling Spanish royals, who were accompanied by servicemen at the airport, waved for photographers from the steps of the plane.

According to Il Mattino, a news outlet based in Italy, Letizia and Felipe will spend Wednesday, the first full day of their state visit, in Rome, before heading to Naples on Thursday. 

It was reported that they will have lunch with prime minister Giorgia Meloni while in the Italian capital. 

They will dine at villa Doria Pamphili, which forms part of the government headquarters.

Once in Naples, King Felipe will reportedly give a lecture at the Teatro San Carlo as part of the celebratory events program for the 800th anniversary of the University of Naples Federico II.

The Spanish king will also receive an honorary degree in Social Sciences and Statistics, according to the publication. 

The state visit to Italy this week comes a day after the Spanish royal couple attended a mass at the Cathedral of Valencia in memory of the victims of the deadly floods that devastated the region in October.

When the couple attempted to calm tensions last month in the streets of Paiporta – one of the hardest-hit towns on the outskirts of Valencia – anguished locals pelted them with mud and other objects.

Yesterday, in their third visit to Valencia since the floods, the royals once again paid respects at the event held in memory of the 230 people who died during the floods – 222 of them in the Valencia region, while four others are still missing, according to authorities.

The emotional occasion, organised by the Archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent Vidal, saw relatives victims in tears.

Letizia and Felipe, both dressed in black, looked solemn as they greeted Vidal at the event.

During a trip to the devastated region in November, Letizia had mud speckled over her face as the crowd shouted ‘murderers’ and other insults at the royals and government officials, including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The reaction forced police to step in, with some officers on horseback used to keep back the crowd of several dozens. 

After being forced to seek protection, the king and queen remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents while local officials – who the angry crowd had reportedly directed their wrath at – fled.

The king and queen spent an hour trying to calm tempers before leaving themselves, while Sanchez and the head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, quickly left.

Last night marked another show of respect from the king and queen, as they stood alongside relatives of victims for the funeral mass.

On October 29, the catastrophic rainfall saw homes and businesses demolished as well as thousands of cars piled up in the muddy streets of the eastern region of Spain.

The floods, which were the worst in a generation, killed 230 in total in the country, with telephone alerts reaching residents when water was already raging through towns.

Several municipalities went days without state help and relied on volunteers for food, water and cleaning equipment.

Outrage has since swept throughout Spain with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets on 1 December to call out the government’s handling of the disaster.

Many have been demanding that Valencia’s President, Carlos Mazon, step down with Spaniards furious that the government hadn’t alerted citizens until it was too late.

Several people died after being caught out in the flash flooding while driving, or while trying to move their vehicles from car parks as well as those living in ground-floor flats.

On the day of the floods, Mazon was said to have taken a long lunch and came to the emergency meeting two hours late, local Spanish media reported.

Thousands chanted slogans calling for Mazon to face jail or resign as they made their way through the city centre of Valencia.