The Embassy Headquarters

The Embassy of Italy in Copenhagen is made up of a Chancery, a separate Consular Section, the Ambassador's residence and the Italian Cultural Institute. The Chancery is situated in the "Embassy Quarter" of Hellerup in a villa, built in 1940 and purchased by the Embassy in 1987. The Consular Section is placed in the same area, a 5 minutes' walk from the Chancery.

Only a century later, in 1852, three lots facing Fredericiagade were added to the property for the construction of stables (then it was only a field). At that time the property reached its present extension. In 1907 important restoration works were carried out at the wing facing Fredericiagade. In 1908, the Glückstadt family bought the house. Isak Glückstadt was Director of the Danske Landmandsbank, now the Danske Bank. In 1909 the family restructured the ancient part of the buildings and constructed the dining room on the second floor (designed by the architect Valdemar Sander) and the balcony facing Amaliegade (designed by the architect Ingemann).

The residence of the Ambassor is located in the heart of Copenhagen in the prestigious part of the city called "Frederiksstaden", neighbour to the Royal Castle "Amalienborg", and has a long and interesting history. In a study from 1985, the Italian Ambassador in Denmark at that time, Stefano d'Andrea, informs that the building dates back to 1750, when the then King of Denmark, Frederik V gave the site, where the first building of the present residence arose, to his valet, Mr. Bæhrentz. Shortly after this building was extended towards Amaliegade.

During the First World War the Glückstadt family added the big ballroom, having pulled down the part of the house which in the second half of the 18th century formed the first enlargement towards Amaliegade.

In 1924, the Italian State purchased the property from the Glückstadt family. Of the furniture, which was considered too expensive by the then Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mussolini, only two framed canvasses placed on the ceilings remain. One of them was made by Magnus Berg (1666-1739) and the other, very famous (the triumph of Galathea) by the painter Henry Krock of Flensburg (1671-1738), the most celebrated artist by the Courts of Frederik IV and Christian VI. The property, which was now Italian, was disparately and quite simply furnished with the exception of the paintings by Giuseppe Recco and the two flower paintings by G. Lopez ("Gaspare dei Fiori"), which come from the Art Gallery of Naples and decorate one of the dining rooms. Then there are six Venetian mirrors hanging in the ballroom. All high quality works of art.

The big house that, at that time, perfectly answered the needs of the new relationship between Italy and Denmark and the contacts between the two Royal families, soon lost its importance during the Depression. The Second World War and the immediate post war period accentuated the disproportion between the size of the house and the actual possibilities of using and maintaining it. So the Residence went through a long period of decay, the consequences of which are still visible. Only with Denmark's entrance in the European Economic Community (1 January 1973), a residence of those dimensions regained its importance. In 1981, the restoration works started and they are still in progress.

Among the important Danish personalities who have lived in the house is the author Thomasine Buntzen (the Napoleonic Period), whom the Danish State has celebrated by printing her portrait on the old 1000 Kroner notes, painted by the prominent portrait painter Jens Juel.

 

legals | credits | F.A.Q.