{"id":8885,"date":"2017-12-12T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=8885"},"modified":"2017-12-11T11:50:55","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T16:50:55","slug":"when-in-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=8885","title":{"rendered":"When In Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2017 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/p>\n

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, there’s never a shortage of things to see and experience in Rome.\u00a0 One of my favorite places in Europe, it’s a fabulous walking city with something to see and do at every turn.<\/p>\n

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One of the most popular attractions in the Eternal City is the Spanish Steps.<\/p>\n

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\"\"In the 17th century, the 135-step staircase was designed by little-known architect and sculptor, Francesco de Sanctis.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the steps have attracted many types of visitors.\u00a0 Artists, painters and poets frequented the steps, inspired by its beauty.\u00a0 The artists presence attracted many beautiful women, hoping to be chosen to serve as models.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Today, the steps attract people of many different backgrounds and has become a celebrated meeting place.<\/p>\n

On this occasion, I arrived to an extremely crowded Piazza di Spagna.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Nowadays, I don’t think that the Italian capital has an off-season.\u00a0 Throngs of tour groups filled the square and most spaces on the steps were filled with people enjoying the warmth of the sunlit afternoon.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Legend states that a fishing boat was carried to this spot during a massive flood of the Tiber River in the 16th century.\u00a0 The fountain was designed to look like the stranded vessel, a half-sunk galleon spilling water over its sides.\u00a0 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\u00a0Polizia di Quartiere or the polizziotti\u00a0<\/i>(police).<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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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 Trinit\u00e0 dei Monti and then down at the Roman Baroque yellow and ochre colored buildings of the Piazza di Spagna.<\/p>\n

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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.\u00a0 Take some time to inspect the obelisk, complete with copied hieroglyphics from the authentic and famous Roman Flaminio Obelisk.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Some interesting facts about the steps:<\/p>\n