Spanish Steps

Spanish Steps review 1 Users say 3/5 Rate it

Piazza di Spagna takes its name from the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, but is famous for the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti), an elegant cascade down from the church of Trinità dei Monti. The steps (completed in 1725) could more accurately be called French: they were funded by French diplomat Etienne Gueffier, who felt the muddy slope leading up to the church - itself built with money from a French king - needed a revamp. At Christmas a crib is erected halfway up; in spring the steps are adorned with huge tubs of azaleas; sometimes fashion shows are held here. At the foot of the stairs is a delightful boat-shaped fountain, the barcaccia, designed in 1627 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and/or his less famous father Pietro; it's ingeniously sunk below ground level to compensate for the low pressure of the delicious acqua vergine that feeds it.