Rome, Italy - Spanish steps - piazza di spagna - rome

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The Spanish Steps or Piazza di Spagna is named after the Palazzo di Spagna built in the 17th century to house the Spanish Embassy. The steps were build in the 1720s to link the French church of Trinita dei Monti at the top of the with the Piazza. This "scalinata" (Spanish Steps staircase) was designed by Francesco di Sanctis to please the French owners of the church and also the Pope. The steps combine straight sections, curves and terraces to create a design which appears to flow down down from the church to the boat shaped fountain by Barcaccia which lies at the bottom of the Spanish Steps.

Further details about the Spanish Steps.

"The Spanish Stairs were built to unite Via del Babuino (the easternmost of the three main arteries radiating into the city from the Piazza del Popolo) with Via Felice, the first great street planned by Sixtus V (1585). Their junction is crossed at an approximately right angle by Via Condotti, which defines the direction toward St. Peter's and the Vatican. Several projects were made between 1717 and 1720, also by Alessandro Specchi, whose ideas were later assimilated by the chosen architect of the Stairs, Francesco de Sanctis. The very rich and varied solution ultimately employed by De Sanctis (1723-26) is based on a simple doubling in depth of the central theme from the Ripetta: a protruding volume flanked by convex stairs and a straight flight in front. The upper unit presents the theme in its basic form; the lower constitutes an articulate and lively variation."

Rome. The piazza, church and famous Scalinata Spagna (Spanish Steps) have long provided a gathering place for foreigners. Built with a legacy from the French in 1725, but named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See (which is still located in the piazza), the steps lead to the French church, Trinità dei Monti.

During May each year the steps are decorated with pink azaleas. The municipli police who patrol the area can be quite strict, and offenders who eat, and have their lunch on the stairs can be fined. lt's all aimed at keeping the steps clean after a major restoration in 1996 before which the stairs were full of holes, and black and grey markings.
On the right as you face the steps you will find the house where John Keats died in 1821, now the Keats-Shelley Memorial House, a small museum crammed with memorabilia of Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and other Romantics. Opening times are from 9 am to 1 pm and 2.30 to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

In the piazza is the boat-shaped fountain called the Barcaccia, believed to be by Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo. The Viale della Trinità dei Monti at the top of the steps leads to the Pincio. Half way along the road on the right is the Villa Medici, perhaps Rome's best piece of real estate with undoubtedly one of the city's best views. The palazzo was built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540. Ferdinando dei Medici bought it in 1576 and it remained his family's property until Napoleon acquired it in 1801, when the French Academy was transferred here. The academy was founded in 1666 to provide talented French artists, writers and musicians - Prix de Rome winners - an opportunity to study and absorb the enormous classical heritage that Rome offered. A good way to get inside the building is by seeing one of the regular art exhibitions that are held there. Guided tours of the villa's spectacular gardens take place at 10.30 and 11.30 am on Saturday and Sunday from March to late May and from September to late October.