The Embassy building at Rome’s Porta Pia was designed by the famous British architect Sir Basil Spence, and opened in 1971. It replaced a building on the same location bought by the British government in the 19th century, which had been severely damaged in a terrorist attack in 1946.

The Ambassador’s residence, in the San Giovanni borough of Rome, was originally the property of an expatriate Russian princess, Zenaide Wolkonsky. It was made available to the British government by the Italian government after the bombing of the building at PortaPia, and the offices were located there while the new Embassy was being planned and built. It was formally purchased by Britain in 1951.