Modern Italian Architecture Under A Copper Roof
Tour the angular copper rooflines and glass-roofed atrium of Italy's modern chancery in Northwest Washington.
🏛️ Copper roof, glass core
The Embassy of Italy sits on Whitehaven Street in Northwest Washington, a cube of pink-toned brick and travertine split by a diagonal cut that opens the building toward the street. Architect Piero Sartogo completed the modern chancery in 2000, trading the columns of older diplomatic buildings for sharp geometry and weathered copper roofs.
Inside, a full-height atrium runs the length of the building under a gridded glass roof, pulling daylight down to the marble floor. The green copper rooflines and the Italian tricolor at the entrance make the exterior recognizable from the surrounding parkland.
The chancery is a working diplomatic mission rather than a museum, though it opens to the public during Washington's annual embassy open houses each spring, when visitors walk the atrium and see rotating exhibitions of Italian design.
