ROME SPANISH STEPS
- TREVI FOUNTAIN

For a complete presentation, please visit the specific pages on the streets of the quarter:

• The Spanish Steps (this page)
• Trevi Fountain
• Via Sistina and Piazza Trinita' de' Monti
• The Borghese Gardens
• Via della Croce
• Via del Babuino, Via San Giacomo, Via dei Greci, Via del Corso
• Via delle Carrozze
• Via Mario Fiori and Via Frattina
• Natural panoramic view of Rome's centre from a high observation point on top of the Spanish Steps!

Rome visitors never cease to be delighted and surprised by Piazza di Spagna. It owes its name to the Spanish Embassy, the first to be permanently established in Rome, in Palazzo Spagna by Antonio del Grande (1647). The square was completed with the building of the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinita’ dei Monti) in 1725. Designed by the Italian architect Francesco De Santis, the project was financed by King Louis XV of France.

The striking architecture of the area was designed by Pope Sixtus V, a renowned town planner of the time. Through the centuries, millions of visitors have walked the Spanish Steps and admired their timeless beauty.

The Spanish Steps consist of 12 flights of travertine steps of varying widths, leading up to the Church of Trinità dei Monti. Every year, in May, the steps are decorated with pink azaleas, making this month a delightful time to visit. While most visitors enjoy climbing the steps, for those who prefer an easier route up, or for the disabled, there is a lift/elevator outside of the metro station.

In the piazza at the bottom of the Spanish Steps you find the 17th century Fountain of the Old Boat (Fontana della Barcaccia), spouting water as she sinks. This fountain, by Pietro Bernini, supposedly marks the place where a large barge came to rest when the river Tiber overflowed its banks.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the area surrounding and including the Spanish Steps became a popular visiting point for wealthy people making the Grand Tour of Europe.
All rich foreign travellers were given honorary British citizenship and treated as noble folk. This made it easy for locals to make money from them by offering their services.

The term "Er ghetto de l’inglesi" - literally, “the English ghetto” - was the name given to this area at the time, referring both to the wealthy English who made the area their home as well to the penniless English artists and writers.

Left: What a Rom...antic place! The most beautiful steps in the world

Via Condotti: the Caffè Greco

You will find here the famed Caffè Greco, founded in 1760, whose past customers include Casanova, Keats, Goethe, Gogol, Werner, Stendhal, Liszt, Byron, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Buffalo Bill and the mad King Ludwig of Bavaria. The interior is elegantly furnished with antiques, paintings and original dedicated documents of its famous customers.

To the left of the Steps, the classic Babington’s Tea Room, founded in 1896, offers an elegant interior, a wide selection of teas and pastries, and waiters in traditional English attire.

For those who love fashion, Via Condotti is no disappointment! Valentino, Bulgari, Gianni Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Fendi and Jean-Paul Gauthier are just a few of the designer boutiques to be found here.

At the end of the steps you find the scenic Franciscan Church of Trinità dei Monti, by architects Carlo Maderno and Domenico Fontana, with in front the Sallustian Obelisk, taken from the ancient Sallustian Gardens.
John Keats and Percy B. Shelley lived in the palazzo to the right of the Steps, and their home is presently a memorial museum.

In the photo to the right you see a view of the quarter from the windows of the Franciscan nuns of the Church. In the background you can see the Church of San Carlo al Corso, and behind it St. Peter.

A masterpiece of architecture and sculpture, the Trevi Fountain dates back to ancient Rome. Rebuilt many times throughout the millennia, it was completed by Nicola Salvi between 1732 and 1751. The Fountain is a symbolic and fanciful celebration of the Mediterranean civilization. The rushing waters come from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, which was commissioned by Agrippa - a general of Augustus - in 19 BC.

The aqueduct transports the water from the Salone springs, 19 miles away from the city. It is named after the young girl (or virgin) who supposedly took Agrippa’s thirsty soldiers to its source. The name Trevi (from “trivium”) literally means three ways: the fountain was constructed at the intersection of three streets.

Legend has it that throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain will ensure your return to Rome. (It is important that you do so by turning away from the fountain and tossing the coin over your shoulder.)

For a more detailed presentation of the fountain, with many photos, please visit its page.

The immense and elegant Piazza del Popolo contains the Northern gate of ancient Rome (known as the Porta del Popolo). In the centre of the Piazza, is a 3000 year-old Egyptian obelisk taken from the Circus Maximus, surrounded by four lions. The square was designed by the Franco-Italian architect, Giuseppe Valadier—architect to Napoleon— in the early 19th century. There are three churches in the Piazza, the most important of which is Santa Maria al Popolo, which contains paintings by Caravaggio and other important artists. The twin Baroque churches, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesano are also worth a visit.

You will also find in the Piazza, two fashionable café, Rosati and Canova. Rosati is a meeting point for Rome’s literati, artists and theatre-folk. The stylish Canova was a favourite of Fellini.

Just above the Piazza is the Pincio Garden, one of the oldest parts of the renowned Borghese Gardens. From here, you have the best views of Rome at sunset. The garden is separated from the gardens of the Villa Borghese by ancient walls, and consists of a number of formal, tree-lined avenues.

Piazza di Spagna: Collegio De Propaganda Fide

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's house

Finally, just after Via del Corso, on the way to the Tiber, you will find the Mausoleum of Augustus, a huge, circular grave of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. Nearby, encased in glass, is the magnificent Ara Pacis, or Altar of Peace, one of the most artistically distinguished monuments of ancient Rome. It was erected in 9 BC to celebrate the wealth and security brought by Augustus’ victories in Spain and Gaul. It was rebuilt from ancient fragments amassed during a time-consuming and difficult excavation.