Built for a Russian princess in 1830, it has seen Vatican cardinals, Gestapo officers and British diplomats pass through its imposing doors, but never, until now, a model with an afro.

Villa Wolkonsky, the home of Britain’s ambassador in Rome, was set to host its first fashion show on Saturday night - but with a twist on the usual parade of willowy, pale-skinned models.

It is the first catwalk show in Italy to celebrate the idea of diversity, featuring 16 models of varying sizes, physical abilities and ethnic backgrounds.

They included a Brazilian-born model in a wheelchair, a model with a prosthetic leg and another whose hair was a testament to her mixed-race heritage.

The unusual fashion show was the idea of Jill Morris, the British ambassador, who since being appointed in 2016 has made her mark on the job by promoting British fashion – and sometimes modelling it herself.

Britain’s first female ambassador to Italy, she organised a charity fashion show a year ago in which she was photographed on the terrace of Villa Wolkonsky wearing gowns designed by Vivienne Westwood.

“It’s the very first diversity catwalk in Italy. I wanted to put on an event that brought together the themes of diversity and fashion,” the ambassador told The Telegraph.