Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti
This could be the most famous set of steps in the world. Well, this and the Rocky steps. And the Exorcist steps. Okay, you get the point: this is a really, really well-known staircase.
To continue with superlatives (this one real), this is the widest staircase in Europe. It’s heralded as one of the most majestic examples of Roman Baroque style due to its butterfly plan, curves, straight flights and terraces. It has 138 steps over twelve flights and it is illegal to eat while sitting on them.
At the top stands the French Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti, which was built in the 15th century to replace a smaller chapel.
At the bottom, in the Piazza di Spagna, is a Baroque fountain of a sinking boat, Fontana della Barcaccia. This is believed to be by Bernini’s father, Pietro. The fountain recalls the historic flood of the River Tiber in 1598
Fontana della Barcaccia sinking below the piazza
Though designed by Italian Francesco de Sanctis, the staircase was built in 1725 thanks to the French. The occasion? The Bourbon Spanish Embassy (for which the Piazza di Spagna is named) and the Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti (also under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France) were linked to the Holy See.
Also in the Piazza di Spagna is the Colonna dell’Immacolata, or Column of the Immaculate Conception. The column was found in 1777 under a monastery and is now topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Colonna dell’Immacolata
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