Photos sent by the office of the far-right prime minister early Sunday showed Meloni and Trump posing at the entrance to Mar-a-Lago and chatting in a reception room, a Christmas tree visible in the background.
According to US journalists present, Trump called Meloni "a fantastic woman."
"She's really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we're just having dinner tonight," Trump said.
According to US media, the two dined and watched the film "The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice," a documentary about a lawyer who was charged for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of Trump.
Photos of the two conservative leaders side by side were on the front pages of all Italy's newspapers Sunday.
Meloni is one of several foreign leaders, including Canada's Justin Trudeau and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who have paid visits to Trump before he takes office.
Trump's promises of introducing heavy import tariffs have led to a scramble among traditional economic allies, including in Europe, to plan for possible negative effects on trade.
Meanwhile, one of Trump's top advisors, billionaire Elon Musk, has taken to social and traditional media to lambast the ruling governments in Germany and the United Kingdom.
His comments have already ruffled feathers in Europe. The same day that Meloni was visiting Trump, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denounced Musk's "erratic" comments and his open support for the extreme-right AfD party.
The visit by Meloni, who heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, comes ahead of a four-day visit to Rome by US President Joe Biden, where he is expected to meet with Meloni and, separately, Pope Francis.
Also in attendance were Trump's incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz and Senator Marco Rubio, tapped for secretary of state, according to US news reports from the event.
Both Trump's and Meloni's offices did not respond to requests for comment about the visit.
