Where to find us
The address of the Embassy of Italy in Riga is Teatra iela, 9. Our offices are on the third and fourth floor. To have access to the offices, you have to digit on the keypad at the door number 30 and wait for the answer at the door phone.
Working hours
The Embassy is open from Monday to Friday from 9 to 18. You can book online an appointment with the Consular Section through Prenot@mi. For political, cultural and commercial issues you can request an appointment by contacting our Team. If you are in an emergency, you can contact our 24/7 hotline.
Our building
The Palace on the corner of Teatra and Valnu Iela is an eclectic art nouveau building designed and built by the architects Heinrich Karl Scheel and Friedrich Scheffel between 1903 and 1904. Heinrich Karl Scheel (17 May 1829 – 13 April 1909) was a German-Baltic architect who lived and worked in Riga. He is considered one of the greatest architects of Riga of the nineteenth century and has designed more than 40 public and private buildings. At the beginning of the 20th century he was one of the first architects to start working in the art nouveau style.
Originally thought as an apartment building with shops, the Palace that today host the Italian Embassy belonged to K. Zihmanis, a bookseller and antique dealer. Typical Art Nouveau elements can be found in the decoration of the facade, distinguished by Baroque motifs – such as the colorful mosaic and the original solutions of the window compartments. The mythological decorative theme of this building consists in the depiction of Hermes and Athena. At the top of the building, three characters holding the globe on their shoulders recall the myth of Atlas. The globe is made of glass and zinc, materials that symbolize progress and the new era.
Shells and floral motifs, as well as various geometric ornaments characteristic of eclecticism, complete the decoration of the facade. Of particular value is the angular tower of the building with raised balcony, supported by two muscular and semi-nude sculptures, depicting Atlas. The window of the fifth floor of the corner tower has the shape of the hole of a lock and includes a decorative mosaic. On the sides of the window are depicted respectively Hermes, protector of merchants, and Athena, goddess of wisdom
