Piazza di Spagna & Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti
ROM-09 • monuments1723 - 1725

Piazza di Spagna & Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti

Monumental 135-step Baroque staircase linking the Piazza to Trinità dei Monti

41.906000°N, 12.482800°E•city Axis
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Documented Historiographical History

Designed by Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi, constructed between 1723 and 1725. Financed by French diplomat Étienne Gueffier to link the Bourbon Spanish embassy to the French church.

Architectural & Symbolic Reading

A graceful urban butterfly staircase symbolizing peace between the Bourbon kingdoms of France and Spain in the heart of Rome.

Historical Legends & Mysteries

Sitting, eating, or drinking on the Spanish Steps was prohibited by municipal decree in 2019 to preserve the historic marble and prevent degradation.

Insider Curiosities & Secret Facts
•The Fontana della Barcaccia at the base was sculpted by Pietro Bernini and his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini, modeled on a flooded Tiber boat.
•English Romantic poet John Keats died in the house on the right of the steps at No. 26 in 1821, now the Keats-Shelley Memorial House.
•During spring (April-May), the entire staircase is decorated with hundreds of blooming pink azalea flower pots.
Related Tags:#Spanish Steps#Trinità dei Monti#Barcaccia#De Sanctis#Piazza di Spagna

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