A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was on hand to welcome her alongside Sala's family.

The reporter for the Il Foglio daily was detained in Tehran on December 19, three days after she arrived on a journalist visa.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, detained in Iran for three weeks, was freed on Wednesday and is on her way back to Italy.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, detained in Iran since December, has been released and is returning home. This follows efforts via diplomatic and intelligence channels. Sala was initially arrested for allegedly violating Iranian laws,

Word of Sala’s release is met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hail the successful negotiations to bring

Prominent Italian journalist and podcaster Cecilia Sala has been freed from Tehran’s Evin prison for political prisoners where she had been detained since Dec. 19. A spokesman for Italian Premiere Giorgia Meloni’s office on Wed.

Cecilia Sala was freed after what the Italian government called "intense" diplomatic work. Iran has been accused of arbitrarily dentaining foreign nationals in order to gain leverage on other governments.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, left Tehran after "intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels," Premier Giorgia Meloni's office said, adding that the Italian premier had personally informed Sala's parents of the news.