The Institute is housed in what was formerly the "Gännäta Le’ul" or Princely Paradise Palace, which was constructed in 1934 as the principle palace building for Emperor Haile Selassie and his family. In 1936 when Italian forces occupied the city of Addis Ababa, the Fascist Viceroy, Rodolfo Graziani, made it his home and administrative center. The palace became the center of international attention when two Eritrean nationalists attempted to assassinate the viceroy, and Graziani responded by massacring the population of Addis Ababa (remembered as Yekatit 12).