The Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the seat of the Italian Ambassador to the United States. The original Italian diplomatic mission to the United States following

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

was founded by Baron

Saverio Fava Baron Francesco Saverio Fava (1832–1913) was known for his founding of the Italian Ministry in Washington, D.C. He served as the first Italian Ambassador of the then recently unified Italy to the United States from 1881 to 1893. Biography As ...

. The current chancery is located just off

Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...

at 3000 Whitehaven Street,

Northwest, Washington, D.C. Northwest (NW or N.W.) is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city (NW, NE, S ...

It is accessed from the

Woodley Park station Woodley Park station (also known as Woodley Park–Zoo/Adams Morgan) is an underground station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Located at 24th Street and Connecticut Avenue Northwest, it serves the neighborhoods of Woodley Park and ...

on the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

. In 1972, the Italian government purchased property from the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

that was part of the campus of the neighboring

Center for Hellenic Studies The Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) is a research institute for classics located in Washington, D.C. at 3100 Whitehaven Street NW. It is affiliated with Harvard University. Nestled in Rock Creek Park behind Embassy Row, the Center for Hellen ...

. The new building was designed by Piero Sartogo and was completed in 2000.

Old Embassy

Previously the embassy had been based at 2700 16th Street and Fuller Street, in an ornate and historic, but small, facility. Several of the embassy's offices had to be based elsewhere in Washington, and it was thus decided to build a new chancery. The Neo-Renaissance building was completed in 1925 and was designed by architects

Warren and Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm based in New York City, a partnership established about 1889 by Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles D. Wetmore (1866–1941). They had one of the most extensive practices of their time, and were e ...

(their designs include

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

in New York City). The first Italian ambassador to reside in the home was

Giacomo De Martino Baron Giacomo de Martino (7 September 1868 – 25 June 1957) was an Italian diplomat and politician. He was the Envoy of Italy to the United States during the regime of Benito Mussolini. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland to the nobleman Renato ...

. In 1977, Ambassador Roberto Gaja moved the residence to Villa Firenze (Firenze House) in the

Forest Hills Forest Hills or Forrest Hills may refer to: Places United States * Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida * Forest Hills, Illinois, a neighborhood in Western Springs * Forest Hills, Kentucky * Forest Hills, Boston, Massachusetts ** Forest Hills Cemetery ...

neighborhood. The 16th Street building continued to serve as the chancery until 2002, when it was purchased by developers. Their plans to convert the building into condominiums are being challenged by the city's Historic Preservation Office.

Bibliography

* As described in

References

External links

*
Embassy of Italy in Washington

wikimapia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Embassy, Washington, D.C.

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Government buildings completed in 1996 1990s architecture in the United States Italy–United States relations

Old Embassy

Bibliography

See also

References

External links