Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday praised president Sergio Mattarella's visit to a state school in Rome's multi-ethnic Esquilino district, where many pupils are of Chinese origin.
"A single gesture is worth more than a thousand words," Di Maio wrote on Facebook.
"Thank you Mr President - you are always an example," read the post.
Mattarella's visit came after Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday urged Italians not to discriminate against Chinese citizens amid the deadly coronavirus epidemic following reports of stone-throwing and attempts to exclude Chinese children from school.