History
The previous Embassy building on the site in Via XX Settembre had been the villa of Don Marino Torlonia, Duke of Bracciano, who had reconstructed it after purchasing it in 1825. After its acquisition by the British Government in 1870, the Villa Bracciano housed both the Residence and Chancery offices. On the night of 31st October, 1946, the building was so seriously damaged by a terrorist bombing that it had to be first partially and then entirely demolished, leaving only the stable block, gatehouse and a stone arched entrance on the right-hand side of the present vehicle entrance. Most of the Embassy staff moved to temporary accomodation in the grounds of the Villa Wolkonsky, later acquired as the Ambassador's Residence.

A New Embassy
A number of planning studies for a new Embassy building were subsequently made, but it was not until 1960 that Sir Basil Spence was commissioned to prepare designs for a new Chancery. Construction was finally authorised and began in 1968, with staff moving into the new building, which had cost £885,000, in June 1971.

The architectural constraints of designing a modern building so close to Michaelangelo's Porta Pia dictated the choice of the Travertine marble also used in the great gateway as the main material for the new construction, as well as its height. Sir Basil Spence's design takes the form of a hollow square building, raised on pillars so that it is open to the first floor apart from the entrance block. At the front, a ceremonial entry leads across a causeway over two pools with fountains, with, in the left-hand pool, Frederick E. McWilliam's Witch of Agnesi sculpture in bronze (1959). The title refers to the Italian mathematician and philosopher Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-99), who in 1750 became the first woman to occupy a chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna

The Courtyard

From the Travertine paved courtyard beneath the building, which is used for major commercial promotions, cultural and social events, rises an impressive double staircase to the ceremonial entrance, beneath which a small pool contains the 1C BC mosaic found in the grotto in the gardens. Other Ancient Roman artefacts found in the gardens are displayed on the other side of the court, and at the rear, large terracotta urns, placed between the supporting pillars of the building, edge another large pool, which gives on to the surrounding gardens.

Another large bronze, 'Back to Venice', made in 1988 by Lyn Chadwick, can be seen beside the entrance block, with the two seated figures backing onto the courtyard.

Inside the Embassy
The interior of the building continues the Travertine marble theme on the walls and floors of the principal level, with doors of light oak with yellow marble doorknobs. Although much glass is used to keep the interior light and airy in feeling, great care was taken by the architect to keep the entry of direct sunlight to a minimum, in order to keep the interior as cool as possible. This is achieved by setting the windows on the outer walls at angles and ribbing the inner walls facing into the courtyard with marble.

The Ambassador's office was furnished to the design or selection of Sir Basil Spence, as were other prestige areas of the Embassy.

Consular Section
The Embassy Consular Section is one of those on the overhanging upper floor, which is lower-ceilinged, with corridor rooflights and terracotta floors.

The Grounds
The gardens are bounded on the northern side by the Aurelian wall of Rome. The Via Nomentana formerly crossed the Embassy site exiting through a gate to the east of the present Porta Pia, between the round and square towers of the wall. In earliest times the road seems to have been lined by tombs, but later, by 2C AD, the area was covered with large suburban villas and workshops. Then followed a period of decay and either neglect or agricultural use, with nothing certain known of the site until 1540,when the Capocci family planted a vineyard there. In about 1640 the Costaguti banking family created enormous formal gardens stretching from the Porta Pinciana by the Piazza del Popolo over the present Embassy site, which at some point included a villa on the present Via XX Settembre, which was that purchased by the Duke of Bracciano for his 1825 reconstruction. The gardens therefore, seem to have been fields or gardens (apart from the Via Nomentana passing through them) for nearly two thousand years. Today, the grounds are mainly laid to lawns, with numerous trees. The Roman grotto still exists at the far end, close to the Aurelian wall, and a fountain against the wall and a pillar erected by the Torlonia family commemorating a Papal visit remain to remind us of the past of this historic site.

Photo gallery

Images of the interior and of the exterior of the Embassy are available in our image library.