The Accademia Britannica is now officially called the British School at Rome. The building stands next to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. It was originally built by Edwin Lutyens, the famous architect of New Delhi.
British School of Rome (Accademia Brittica)
History and description
The building was constructed for the Esposizione Universale of 1911. This world exhibition was organized in occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Italian State.
The architect was Sir Edward Landser Lutyens. He had based his project for the pavilion on London’s St. Paul’s Basilica.
The British Pavilion stood next to the only just completed Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. When the event ended, the Italian government gave the site to the British to build an academy dedicated to history, fine arts and archaeology.
Once again, it was Luytens who was commissioned to do the work. He designed a stone version of the original, wooden, pavilion. The exterior walls were then clad in travertine marble.
The institute’s vast library contains 45,000 books and 15,000 periodicals.
Useful information
Address: Via Antonio Gramsci, 61 – 00197 Rome. Telephone: +39 06 326 4939.