The Avenue Legrand Mansion
The building has been the Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Belgium since 1919 and it is adjacent to the Embassy facilities. It is situated in Ixelles, an elegant quarter of the capital near the extensive forest park Bois de la Cambre. Upon request of Prince Pierre de Caraman Chimay, son of a Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the mansion was built in the first decade of the 20th century by the Humbert brothers, two famous architects from Paris renowned for their neo-classical buildings. Soon after the end of the First World War, on the death of the Prince, the mansion was acquired by Vittorio Emanuele III° King of Italy who contributed to the embellishment of the building by decorating it with invaluable paintings and furnishings. Since the end of the Second World war, the Avenue Legrand Mansion has been witness to the birth and first steps of the establishment of the European Community as well as the centre of many important meetings and summits.
