Embassy of the Kingdom of Italy in Belgrade

Among the institutions which most contributed to the development of Italian-Serbian relations, stands out the embassy of the Kingdom of Italy in Belgrade. Built in the west part of the Serbian capital center from 1924 to 1926, for eight decades it has been representing the main factor of the political action of this country’s official authorities in Serbia. From the middle of the third decade up to nowadays, this building has been serving adequately its primary purpose - political - representative, administrative and residential. It has even a sacral purpose, since there is a chapel in one of its parts. As a significant architectural achievement in its building type and environment, the building of the Italian Embassy charms with its rich interior decoration and valuable collection of movable artistic objects. Considering the specific function and lack of comparative researches of Italian and Serbian architecture between the two World Wars it remained unfairly in the margins of historiographic researches. The architectural details of the Italian Embassy building, which distinguishes by many things from other buildings of the same purpose in Belgrade, are actualized by this work. Formed in the style of academism with eclectically inserted reminiscence of renaissance, mannerism and baroque, the palace of the Italian Embassy fit into the environment of Bircaninova street and merged with style predilections of the new age of Serbian architects. The author of the Italian Embassy building was the famous roman architect Florestano di Fausto (1890-1965), who left a deep trail in the official architecture of the Italian fascist state. The biggest part of his opus, he made outside Italy, mainly in its colonies on the Mediterranean. He was considered to be a revered expert in architecture of Italian embassies built in south-east, west and north Europe. Due to reputation of state architect of the fascist epoch, and actual difficulties for the total valorization of his work spread in more than one continent, he was completely ignored in historiographic reviews of the world architecture. In spite of the fulfillment of the conservative norms of the ruling academism, di Fausto did not succumb to its limitations, rejecting the ideal of the cold non-personal, alienated architecture. Instead of dull and monotonous building, in Belgrade he offered a building of the erudite procedure natural frontage and functional interior. By contrasts of colors and openings, and especially by a row of little columns in front of the building, he revived its conventional, severe structure, completing the environment of Bircaninova Street. Although at the beginning of the career he showed balance and maturity typical of more experienced authors. In the architecture of the Belgrade academism between the two Wars this palace has a special position. Although it advanced neo-mannerism predilections of Serbian architects, buildings similar to it shall be built a whole decade later, during the rise of totalitarian political ideas and architectural plans, di Fausto’s Embassy in Belgrade, together with several buildings built in the period between the two World Wars by unidentified Italian architects is a representative example of the Italian art in Belgrade. Damaged in the bombings of Belgrade in 1941 and 1999, constantly supplemented with valuable artistic objects, the building of the Italian Embassy successfully overcomes the ravages of time. Recently completely rehabilitated, open for public meetings, it became a significant place for gathering of Belgrade diplomatic and cultural elite. The goal which set Queen Jelena - that the building of the Embassy serves as a bridge between the two nations and the two cultures, has been re-actualized in the best way, by recent placement of her portrait at the most visible place in the ground floor. By choosing a suitable architect, the investor showed a large intuition, conscious that her plan shall receive an adequate artistic realization. Partnership between the wise queen and the talented architect brought results which must be respected even by a future generations. This applies even to whole architectural opus of di Fausto, which is neither sufficiently understood, nor correctly evaluated. It is necessary to re-examine the apriori attitudes to retrogression and strictly official character of his architecture. That is how this attention to his Belgrade debut, has as a goal the further rehabilitation of his artistic personality.