The Palazzo Corpi is a 19th-century

palazzo A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...

. The historical building was built for Genoese merchant Ignazio Corpi by Italian architect Giacomo Leoni between 1873 and 1882. The property was bought by the United States government in 1907 to serve as the American embassy in Turkey, and from 1937 to 2003 the Palazzo Corpi housed the Consulate General of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

in Turkey. The US government leased the building in 2014 to

Soho House Soho House is a museum run by Birmingham Museums Trust, celebrating Matthew Boulton's life, his partnership with James Watt, his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham and his contribution to the Midlands Enlightenment and the Indust ...

, which currently occupies the structure. The palazzo holds the distinction of being the first diplomatic premises owned by the United States government in Europe, as well as being one of the first diplomatic buildings to be purchased by the United States.

History

The Palazzo Corpi was built in the late 19th century at the behest of Ignazio Corpi, a wealthy Genoese shipowner who had established his business in the

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

district of Istanbul. Corpi employed Italian architect Giacomo Leoni to build the palazzo. He also commissioned Georgio Stampa, an architect who had worked on several national embassies in Istanbul, to assist Leoni. Construction began in 1873 and concluded in 1882. The costs associated with the project were recorded as being 99,000 liras. Ignazio Corpi himself died in 1882, shortly before the building was completed.

United States ownership

The United States legation to the Ottoman Empire began leasing the Palazzo Corpi from the Corpi family in 1882. The structure was purchased outright by John George Alexander Leishman in 1907, who was at the time the United States Ambassador to Turkey. Leishman bought the palazzo using 28,000 liras of his own money on the assumption that he would be reimbursed for his expenditure. However, the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

refused to compensate Leishman for the property, considering the purchase to be a personal expense. In response, Leishman invited a number of members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to a party at which a poker game was played. While playing one hand of poker, Leishman bet some of his competitors that, if he won, the government would reimburse him for his acquisition of the Palazzo Corpi. Leishman won, and the United States government reimbursed Leishman, and in doing so officially acquired the Palazzo Corpi as its embassy in Turkey. In the words of Thomas J. Carolan, Jr. of the

American Foreign Service Association The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 due-paying members, AFSA represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees ...

, "Palazzo Corpi thereby acquired the unique distinction of being the first and only U.S. diplomatic premises to be won in a poker game." In addition to becoming an administrative hub, the palazzo also became the official residence of the United States ambassador to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1908 a wing of the building was converted into offices for the chancery. Following the designation of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

as Turkey's capital in 1923, the United States began to transfer diplomatic facilities to the new capital. The embassy of the United States in Turkey was moved to Ankara in 1937, and the Palazzo Corpi became the U.S. Consulate General. The building continued in this role until 2003, when security risks prompted the consulate to move its location. In 2004 the Hollings Center was founded with the intent to foster dialogue between the United States and the nations of the Middle East. One of the goals of the organization is to maintain the Palazzo Corpi.

Current occupancy

In 2014 the United States agreed to lease the palazzo to Soho House, a hotel club. Soho House then refurbished parts of the building at a cost of $12 million. These renovations were finished in 2015, after which the Palazzo Corpi became a hotel and conference center. The building continues to house office space for the Hollings Center's operations in Turkey.

Design

Exterior

The Palazzo Corpi was designed by Giacomo Leoni in the style of a neoclassical Italian palazzo.

Decoration

The palazzo is richly adorned with materials imported from Italy, such as

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

flooring and facings from

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

. The main hall of the residence is decorated with

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es depicting figures from Greek and Roman mythology, as well as other classical figures. These frescoes were painted over when the building was renovated in 1937, but have since been restored.

As a hotel

As a hotel the Palazzo Corpi (in addition to adjacent buildings also leased by Soho House) features 87 rooms, two restaurants, a public space adjacent to the main building, and a bar.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey Hotels in Istanbul Beyoğlu Residential buildings completed in 1882 Neoclassical architecture in Turkey 19th-century architecture in Turkey