WASHINGTON —President Barack Obama’s is reserving his final state dinner for the prime minister of Italy, providing star treatment to a key ally who soon faces a critical leadership test in his home country.

The official visit and state dinner for Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi today will be a glitzy affair that features celebrity chef Mario Batali in the kitchen and singer Gwen Stefani performing after the dinner.

White House officials describe the two political leaders as ideologically sharing a great deal of common ground, most notably their belief in the importance of a strongly integrated Europe.