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Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps in Rome, linking Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti at the top, are among the most famous monuments of the city, as well as a symbol of the whole country.

Previously known as “Platea Trinitatis” because of the church of Trinità dei Monti, it was renamed the Spanish Steps because of the presence of the Spanish Embassy. Featuring an irregular shape that resembles the one of a butterfly, Piazza di Spagna is the centre of the cultural and tourist life in Rome, where many artists spend much of their time.
The stairway, that counts 135 steps, was designed by Alessandro Specchi and Francesco de Sanctis in order to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the church of Trinità dei Monti. It was unveiled on the occasion of the jubilee in 1725 by Pope Benedict XIII.
The Piazza boasts other notable monuments, like the Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat") built by Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It reminds about the flood in 1598, which was so disastrous that the ‘barcacce’, typical river boats used on the Tiber, ended up to the place where the fountain currently stands.

The Palace of the ‘Propaganda Fide’ (which belongs to the Vatican) and the Spanish Embassy are located south-east to the Spanish Steps.
The column of the Immaculate Conception, standing between the two buildings, is another famous monument in Piazza di Spagna. Dating back to the age of ancient Rome and placed in the square in 1857, it worships the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Over 29 metres high, it rests on a multicoloured marble octagonal basis decorated with the bronze statues of the prophets Moses, David, Isaiah and Ezekiel on the corners, as well as four bas-reliefs depicting ‘The definition of the dogma’, ‘Saint Joseph's dream’, ‘The crowning of Mary in Heaven’ and ‘The Annunciation’. On one end is a huge brass and bronze alloy statue of the Virgin Mary by the neoclassical sculptor Giuseppe Obici.

DID YOU KNOW...?

The house museums of English poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley (a friend of Keats’) are located at the bottom of Spanish Steps in Rome.

Another famous place in Piazza di Spagna is Babington’s Tea Room, founded in 1893 by two English noblewomen who wanted to create a meeting place for the British people living in Rome. Nowadays the tearoom is very popular among high-class people, such as politicians, show business people and member of royal families.
Due to the stairway and its butterfly shape, Piazza di Spagna is featured in several popular films, such as ‘We all loved each other so much’, ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘Three girls from Rome’.

The steps leading to Trinità dei Monti are also used as a catwalk for the frequent fashion shows.