Piazza di Spagna - Spanish Steps, Rome

4 more images

You immediately notice the beautiful, fushia azaleas in pots. A magnificent church is located at the top of the steps. If you go early in the morning like we did (around 8:30am), not many people are there and it is a beautiful scene as the morning sunlight hits the street and the horse carriages are preparing to give rides for the day.

We went into the church, Trinità dei Monti, and there was an early morning service going on. The music was like a Latin chant as words were spoken and the chanting was sung. It was chilling to listen to. No musical instruments and the echo of the voices from the acoustics in the church were amazing. I could listen to this the entire day by after 10-15 minutes, it ended.

We went at night. Our family went back during the day for some more great pictures. Lovely to sit and view with loved ones, but warn your females not to accept the roses from vendors. They will try to force or flatter them onto you and then pester the men in your group to pay them for the roses. Such a scam. Also if you accept one, they bother you all the more. But don't miss seeing it just because of those who will harass you.

1 more image

At the SE corner of piazza di Spagna we noticed another tall column. It’s called Colonna dell'Immacolata (column of the Immaculate conception ). The column was found in 1777 under a monastery and Pope Pius IX used it as a monument to Virgin Mary in 1857 to commemorate the dogma of the immaculate conception. That’s why they topped the column with a bronze statue of Virgin Mary (made by Giuseppe Obici). There are also some sculptures at the bottom of the column like King David (made by Tadolini)

There’s a ceremony in front of the column every year on December 8 when the pop crowns the statue of Virgin Mary with a garland of flowers, that must be interesting to see although I guess it will be packed with people.

4 more images

Piazza di Spagna took its name from the time that the site was Spanish territory back in the 17th century when the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See was located here.

At the bottom of the spanish steps you can see Fontana della barcaccia(fountain of the old boat ) (pic2) which is nice baroque fountain and has a shape of half sunken ship. It was erected in 1627, 29 years after a flooding of Tiber river that caused the flooding over piazza di Spagna. There was a boat left there when the water withdrew so they made Pietro Bernini and his son made the fountain inspired by that.

Spanish Steps(Scalinata Della Trinità dei Monti ) must be the most popular meeting point in Rome among locals and tourists. It is always crowded day and night, especially by young people that can spend hours on the steps with a beer in their hands and countless of tourist trying to take romantic pictures although they know it’s impossible with so many people around :) From this spot starts via Condotti, the famous street which is full of expensive clothe stores and boutiques, with people come and go non stop but you cant imagine how packed it was in christmass period during the evenings. Watch out for pickpockets.

The wide staircase was built by Francesco de Sanctis in 1725 with a terrace in the middle to enjoy the view. Pic3 shows the view from the upper terrace, Rome lies in front of you…

At the top lies Trinita Dei Monti, a beautiful French church that was built in 1585 with two bell towers. If front of the church is another obelisk(pic4) that was erected in 1789 by Pope Pius VI, it’s a small scale copy of the obelisk you can see at Piazza del Popolo. We walked inside the church and took a picture of the interior(pic5) but didn’t stay long to check the paintings because they were people praying at that time and they wouldn’t understand the VT excuses I guess… :)

4 more images

The most famous square in Rome, Piazza di Spagna, owes its name to the fact that the piazza was considered Spanish territory for a while during its history. Along with the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (known as the Spanish Steps in English) it is a favourite gathering spot, day or night, among Romans and tourists alike. The piazza is graced by a Bernini fountain and surrounded by stunning Italianate architecture in the typical ochre colours of Rome. It is also where the famous Via Condotti meets the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately, during high tourist seasons, this area is unbearably crowded and is best avoided!

3 more images

The steps is the longest and widest staircase in Europe. The steps lead to the French Church, Trinita dei Monti, a beautiful church is located on a hill overlooking the small Piazza della Trinita dei Monti. From this square, you have a nice view over Rome. It can get crowded on the steps with people sitting, relaxing and talking. At the base is the early baroque fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat"). From here it's just a step to designer boutiques on Via Condotti, Via Veneto, etc.

This is where you can always find a lot of people sitting down on the steps, taking photos...

At the foot of the beautiful staircase you'll find a fountain in the shape of a sinking ship. The Barcaccia Fountain was designed by a father and son, Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The stairs will take you to the 16th-century French church, Trinità dei Monti. In front of it, there's an obelisk with the same hieroglyphs as those on Piazza del Popolo.

The majestic staircase was built around 1725 by Francesco De Sanctis to celebrate the peace between Spain and France.

When the subject is fashion, those steps are in everybody's memories. That's why, after seeing the Pope, everybody must go there. As a matter of fact, the local is not particularly attractive, specially knowing that it has Rome around it, but... who cares? You have to go there.

Ok, we did, fortunately skipping the nearby shops.