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If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, there’s never a shortage of things to see and experience in Rome. One of my favorite places in Europe, it’s a fabulous walking city with something to see and do at every turn.
One of the most popular attractions in the Eternal City is the Spanish Steps.
In the 17th century, the 135-step staircase was designed by little-known architect and sculptor, Francesco de Sanctis. The steps, built during a two year span, from 1723 to 1725, were intended to connect the newly built Trinita dei Monti church, owned by the French, and the Piazza di Spagna, home of the Spanish Embassy, signifying the newly-established peace between France and Spain.
The staircase, flanked by two of Rome’s most unusual monuments, the Fontana della Barcaccia and the Sallustian Obelisk, is also a neighbor to the home where Romantic writer, John Keats died of tuberculosis, now a popular museum.
Over the years, the steps have attracted many types of visitors. Artists, painters and poets frequented the steps, inspired by its beauty. The artists presence attracted many beautiful women, hoping to be chosen to serve as models. The models presence, in turn, attracted rich Romans and travelers and eventually a great number of famous hotels, restaurants and stores were opened in the area, including the likes of Gucci and Chanel. Today, the steps attract people of many different backgrounds and has become a celebrated meeting place.
On this occasion, I arrived to an extremely crowded Piazza di Spagna. Years ago, it seemed that you could visit the area during the off-season months and find the place less crowded than during the summer tourist season. Nowadays, I don’t think that the Italian capital has an off-season. Throngs of tour groups filled the square and most spaces on the steps were filled with people enjoying the warmth of the sunlit afternoon.
At the base of the steps, I set my eyes upon the Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat), an early Baroque fountain, designed by Pietro Bernini and commissioned by Pope Urban VIII. Legend states that a fishing boat was carried to this spot during a massive flood of the Tiber River in the 16th century. The fountain was designed to look like the stranded vessel, a half-sunk galleon spilling water over its sides. Although it may be tempting during the hottest summer months, do not attempt to wade in the basin and only drink from the spouts in the side of the boat, not the basin or you may find yourself having a visit with a member of the Polizia di Quartiere or the polizziotti (police).
Making my way past the gathered visitors, I climbed steadily up the right side of the steps, passing the Keats-Shelley Memorial House which houses the most extensive collection of memorabilia of mostly English artists, including Keats, Shelley, Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde.
Dodging dozens of seated visitors, I made my way upward among the mix of curves, straight flights, vistas and terraces, occasionally stopping to gaze upward at the twin towers of the Church of Trinità dei Monti and then down at the Roman Baroque yellow and ochre colored buildings of the Piazza di Spagna.
At the top of the Spanish Steps is the Sallustian Obelisk, sculpted to look like one of the many obelisks that Roman emperors borrowed from Egypt and put into place in 1789. Take some time to inspect the obelisk, complete with copied hieroglyphics from the authentic and famous Roman Flaminio Obelisk.
While standing at the base of the obelisk, I marveled at the beauty of the staircase cascading below me and the hundreds of people milling about.
Some interesting facts about the steps:
- Picnicking is strictly forbidden as the steps would be overridden, making any movement to the top impossible.
- Although refurbished recently, look to see if you can spot the areas where several of the 200 year-old steps were chipped and scuffed. In 2007, a drunkard attempted to drive a car down the Spanish Steps. Thankfully, only a few steps were harmed. Incidents such as this and the fact that the steps is a large gathering place have given many pause about lingering too long in the area.
- It’s almost impossible to have the landmark to yourself, unless you wake up pretty early or stay up pretty late. Busiest around sunset, friends, lovers and tourists congregate to celebrate the end of the day.
- During certain times of the year, seasonal decorations are placed on the stairway. In the spring, it is decorated with pink azaleas for a month, celebrating Rome’s founding and during Christmas, a 19th century crib is displayed on the first level of the steps.
With one last glance at the piazza and steps below, I ascended to the stairway’s crowning glory, the Church of the Santissima Trinitá dei Monti.
The most famous of French churches is not on French soil…it sits at the top of the Spanish Steps! By one of the many quirks of Roman history, this church is maintained by France, is a century and a half older than the steps and is mostly famous for its location rather than what it houses.
Built between 1502-and 1519, the church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and given Gothic elements to laud the great French Gothic cathedrals. Officially titled Santissima Trinita di Monte Pincio (Most Holy Trinity of Mount Pinicio), the church was named for the hill on which it sits. Since its restoration in 1823, every cardinal has been a French national and mass continues to be said in French.
While walking through the cathedral, it is interesting to note each of the six bays with side aisles which have been divided to form self-contained chapels, including the Borghese Chapel, built when in 1574 when it was decided that the church should be lengthened. The chapel bears the family crests, a Baroque sculpture of the Pieta and is the burial site of many illustrious members of the family.
Other extraordinary works of art include the Deposition fresco by Daniele da Volterra and the fresco cycles by the Zuccari brothers of Old and New Testament scenes which were created over a twenty-five year span. Connecting the church to the monastery is a perspective gallery by Andrea Pozzo and a pipe organ designed by a majestic French master.
After leaving the church, I was determined to head toward the recently refurbished Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), but there was a brief detour that I was determined to make.
The Monster House, located a short distance from Trinitá dei Monti at Via Gregoriana 28, is actually the 16th century Zuccari Palace, which boasts the faces and gaping mouths of monsters swallowing the doors and windows on its facade. Originally the house of Baroque painter Federico Zuccari, built in 1590, it served as a studio for himself and his children and drew inspiration from the Gardens of Bomarzo. Over the years, it also served as a residence for the Queen of Poland, was a center of high society in Rome and an inn for foreign artists. Today, the building houses the Max Planck Institute for Art History, however, it is not open to the public. You can, however, grab a couple of photos from across the street.
Making my way down Via Gregoriana, I finally headed to the Trevi Fountain to see it once again devoid of the scaffolding that had marred its beautiful veneer the last time I had walked past.
With origins dating back to Roman times, the fountain was originally the terminating point of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct commissioned by Augustus, which provided water for the thermal baths. Taking three centuries to complete, under the orders of Pope Clement XII, the fountain’s design is often associated with Bernini, although most of the work was complete by Nicola Salvi.
Like the Spanish Steps, the well-known Trevi Fountain has become a place where tourists and locals meet and hang out, grabbing a nearby gelato while admiring the roaring water cascading from the monument.
Constructed of travertine and carrara marble, the fountain is 85.28 feet high by 160.72 feet wide. 2,824,800 cubic feet of water spill from the fountain daily and its presence can be detected many streets away from its roaring sound.
In the center of the fountain is a chariot in the shape of a shell, led by seahorses with Triton as their guide. In the forefront stands Oceanus and on the sides are the statues of Abundance and Salubrity. Natural and artificial forms are represented throughout as rocks and petrified vegetation that run along the foundation of the palace and around the borders of the pool, representing the sea.
Always busy, polizziotti have a constant presence and its quite disconcerting to be among the hundreds of selfie takers. However, whipping out your own phone and snapping away is a must!
And, while you are at it, make sure to throw a coin from your right hand over your left shoulder and make a wish! It will ensure that you will return to Rome one day!
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The Spanish Steps (Scalina Spagna)
Trinitá dei Monti
- http://trinitadeimonti.net/en/homepage/
- Address: Piazza della Trinità dei Monti, 3, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
- Admission: free
- Hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 0730–1900, Friday, 1200-1900, Saturday and Sunday, 1000-1700. Closed on Mondays. No visits are allowed during church celebrations.
- French Masses: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 1830, Saturday, 1200, Sunday, 0930.
- Italian Masses: Wednesday, 0630, Sunday, 1100
- Eucharistic Adoration: Tuesday-Thursday, 0730-0830
- Metro stop: Spagna
The Monster House
Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)
Paying our entrance fees, we began the arduous climb (over 300 steps) to the top of the Dome. Though I had to stop a few times and my legs were quite shaky, we reached the top and Oh! What a view!
