The Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C.
Exterior Design
The history of the design of the new Embassy of Italy in the United States begins in 1992 with an invitation to the respected international architecture firm of LEO A DALY to serve as American architect for the project. Selected due to its expertise in expediting the design and completion of foreign missions and U.S. Embassies, LEO A DALY's first assignment was to assist the Italian Foreign Ministry in establishing the Design Guidelines for a competition to select a signature Italian architect for the new Embassy on a prominent site in Washington, DC. Leading Italian architects were invited to submit design ideas which, while being distinctively Italian, would also complement the surrounding landscape and architecture of Washington, DC. The proposal submitted by Piero Sartogo Architects was judged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to best fulfill the requested symbolic and design criteria, and that firm was awarded the commission.
In keeping with Washington’s historical beginnings, the new Embassy’s basic footprint – a large square – mirrors George Washington’s original ten by ten mile square parcel allotted for the creation for the District of Columbia. In fact, the building’s angular site was a part of architect Pierre Charles l’Enfant�����s classical 18th century plan for the city, in broad, diagonal avenues overlaid a basic grid, resulting in numerous circles and triangles where streets and avenues intersected. In the Embassy’s design, a diagonal passageway divides the square building in much the same way as the Potomac River divided the original plan for the District, while it overlays and radiates out from the central atrium, as Washington’s avenues radiate out from the U.S. Capitol dome.
Sartogo's building plan also evokes Italy's rich architectural tradition, with the patterns of solids and spaces and the lean, austere lines characteristic of a Tuscan villa, while the great, slanting buttress that drops down the slope toward the park recalls the stalwart defensive bastions of a medieval Italian castle. The Italian character of the Embassy is further enhanced by its exquisite furnishings of modern Italian design, along with the classical paintings and ancient artifacts which are displayed throughout the building.
The Embassy overlooks the intersection of Whitehaven Street and Massachusetts Avenue, one of the most prestigious areas of the city's northwest quadrant, on land that sweeps down into the verdant hardwood forests of Rock Creek Park. The building’s clean, purist lines distinguish it from the neighborhood’s neoclassical architecture.
The two entrances give way to a spacious, glass-domed atrium which also serves as an architectural seam between the two sections of the building. All public rooms - auditorium, conference room, cafeteria, meeting rooms and others - surround and open onto this sunlit circular reception area, where tradition blends with the contemporary to welcome all visitors with a uniquely Italian warmth and aesthetic sensibility.
Interior Design
Contemporary Italian interior design of the last forty years is showcased throughout the Embassy. Several pieces have been on display at leading contemporary art museums. Among the great design names to be found at the Italian Embassy are Carlo Scarpa, Achille Castiglioni, Renzo Piano, Luciano Baldassarre, Ettore Sottsass and many others.
Modern design mingles with historical tradition in the display of numerous archeological artifacts, several of which line the glass wall facing the park, between the two towers.
Among them are two ancient green marble columns, previously installed in the 16th Street building, which now grace the two entrances of the new Embassy.
Numerous paintings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries complete this “museum tour” for all to enjoy.
Project Details
Ground was broken for construction of the new building on March 25, 1996, and on June 21, 2000 the new Embassy was officially inaugurated. The construction contract was entrusted to the joint venture of Dioguardi S.p.A. (Bari) and Beacon Skanska (Boston), which oversaw the services of 39 Italian and U.S. sub-contractors.
The building itself occupies 29,800 square feet, on a 230,300 square foot lot acquired from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1972.
The property boundaries are actually larger and include a fottpath into Rock Creek Park - commonly known as Lover's Lane - that the Government of Italy decided to leave intact in an easement for the public’s continued enjoyment. As part of the agreement, the National Parks Service provides security and maintenance for the 1.4 acre parcel.
Out of concern for the environment special attention was given to preserving the existing treescape whenever possible during construction. As a result, the building blends naturally into its park-like surroundings.
The Embassy’s external facade is covered with approximately 42,000 blocks of rose Asiago marble (perlino rosato) that were custom cut to size at Italy's Marina di Carrara, and carefully hand selected at the construction site.
The roof, notable for the elongated lines of its eaves, is covered completely with patina copper, resembling the natural oxidation of copper roofing on some of the surrounding buildings.
Italian artisans employed ancient techniques, faithful to a centuries-old formula invented centuries ago, to create authentic “Venetian terrazzo” floors for the atrium space.
The glass skydome was manufactured in California using specialized 3-D software applications, which simulated the assembly of the 270-plus thermally insulated glass panels. Despite the tight dimensional tolerances of the structure, the final on-site alignment process was accomplished successfully through the use of a sophisticated laser beam device.
History
In two microfiches preserved in the archives of the U.S. Department of State are several documents regarding diplomatic relations between the United States of America and Italian States prior to the nation's unification. The oldest document attesting to the presence of an Italian diplomat in Washington is the letter of credentials transmitted by Minister-Ad-Interim of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Fancesco Luigi Di Medici, to Secretary of State Henry H. Clay on July 19, 1826, requesting agreement to accredit Count Federico Lucchesi Palli di Campofranco as Special Envoy of the King, with the mandate of establishing a network of consular offices. Campofranco arrived in New York in the summer of 1826 as both Envoy of the King of the Two Sicilies and as representative of the Papal State to the Government of the United States. He established the Consulate of New York before departing for Brazil, leaving the task of completing the network of consular offices - Charleston, New Orleans, and Baltimore - to his successor, Domenico Morelli.
In 1832, the King of Sardinia sent the Count of Colombiano to the United States. Following a brief stay in Baltimore, he too opened a consular office in New York.
On April 11, 1861, following Italy’s unification, former Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom on Sardinia, Chevalier Joseph Bertinatti, presented his credentials as Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Italy. It was one day before the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, which would begin the American Civil War.
In 1870, the offices of Italy's diplomatic mission were located in Northwest Washington at 2017 G Street. Minister Plenipotentiary Count Luigi Corti was likely the first diplomat to reside in Washington for an extended period. The first Ambassador of the Kingdom of Italy to the United States of America was Baron Saverio de Fava, who remained in that post for 20 years, from 1881 to 1901. During his term in office, Italy's mission in the capital city moved through 8 different locations. In the following 24 years, the Embassy offices were moved 5 more times, finally settling in at 1601 Fuller Street where they remained for 75 years.
In the summer of 2000, the Embassy was moved permanently to Whitehaven Street.
Total Property Area: 230,300sf
Usable Area: 145,700sf
Building Plan Area: 29,800sf
Usable Volume: 2,055,552cf
Atrium Area: 12,100sf
Building Height: 62ft.