The Kihinkan - Takanawa Manor House will be the base for Casa Italia during next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo ©CONI

Casa Italia, the hospitality house for Italy's Olympic team and partners, will be based at The Kihinkan - Takanawa Manor House during Tokyo 2020, it has been announced.

The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) claimed they had inspected 60 different locations over the last two years before deciding to choose the site about 10 kilometres from the Olympic Village and Main Press Centre.

The decision to choose the building that dates back to the start of the last century, and which is characterised by its Liberty-style architecture, was officially rubber-stamped by the CONI Council at its latest meeting.

The project will be funded by CONI's partners and act as a base to showcase Italy and help celebrate the country's winners at Tokyo 2020. 

CONI is also expected to take the early opportunity to promote Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, which last month was awarded the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Since the idea was launched at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Casa Italia has earned a reputation for its fine food and is also somewhere that not only promotes Italian excellence in sport, but also in art and design.

Recent locations have included the Haidian Exhibition Hall at Beijing 2008 and the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre during London 2012.

Casa Italia was based at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre during London 2012 ©Getty Images
Casa Italia was based at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre during London 2012 ©Getty Images

At the last Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Casa Italia was based on an island overlooking the Atlantic connected to the mainland only by a long bridge.

Its most recent location was Yongpyong Golf Club during last year's Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. 

Most of the leading National Olympic Committees are expected to set up hospitality houses in Tokyo during the Olympics.

As well as acting as a base for their team's athletes, they are also seen as an opportunity to help promote trade.

One of the most important is expected to be the house established by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee at a building connected to the Fuji Television Network.

It is set to act as an important meeting place as preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris enter a new phase.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation, meanwhile, have chosen the six-storey shopping mall "AQUA CiTY" on the artificial island of Daiba.

 The United States Olympic Committee have selected the Tokyo American Club as their base during Tokyo 2020.