Under the agreement, the Lithuanian Embassy will soon move to a palace in central Rome – Palazzo Blumenstihl. The premises will be given for free as a compensation for the Lithuanian Embassy building Villa Lituania which has been used by Russian diplomats since the Soviet occupation.
The upper and lower chambers of the Italian parliament ratified the document, signed in Vilnius in February, in June and July. The president signed the ratification document on Tuesday. The agreement will come into force once it is published in the country's official gazette Gazzetta Ufficiale, Rasa Jakilaitienė, spokeswoman for the Lithuanian minister of foreign affairs, told BNS on Wednesday.
Under the pact, Lithuania will have nearly 700 square meters on the 4th floor of the palace designed by prominent Italian architect Luca Carimini in the late 1800s. Estimated at almost EUR 9 million, the facilities will be provided to Lithuania free of charge for 99 years, with the possibility to extend the period in 2112.
