Discover Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps — the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti — climb a 29-metre slope on a shoulder of the Pincio in 135 steps, from Piazza di Spagna at the bottom to the church of Trinità dei Monti at the top. Turismo Roma dates the stairway to 1723–26, built under Innocent XIII and directed by the Roman architect Francesco De Santis, as a scenographic link between the slopes of the Pincio and the square below — and expressly so that it would be a gathering place for all citizens. It still is, which is why Romans call it the salotto di Roma, the drawing room of Rome.

They are called Spanish, and they are French. The money came from Étienne Gueffier, a French diplomat to the Holy See who died in 1660 leaving part of his fortune for the stairs. An earlier scheme, pushed by Cardinal Mazarin, would have crowned them with an equestrian monument of Louis XIV — an intrusion that caused a furore in papal Rome. The winning drawing was engraved in 1726 with a long dedication to Louis XV. The church at the top is under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France; only the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, in the Palazzo Monaldeschi at the bottom, supplies the name.

That settlement is carved into the stonework: the Bourbon fleur-de-lys and Innocent XIII's eagle and crown are carefully balanced in the sculptural details.

At the foot sits the Fontana della Barcaccia — Turismo Roma gives 1626–29 and Pietro Bernini, father of Gian Lorenzo; the reference work says Urban VIII commissioned it in 1623 and it was completed 1627–29. It is a boat with identical prow and stern in an oval pool, its gunwales so low the boat appears to be sinking. That is not only a joke: Bernini set it below street level because the Acqua Vergine had too little pressure to push water any higher.

Trinità dei Monti was founded in 1495. The Bulgari-sponsored restoration of 2015–16 cleaned almost 3,000 square metres of travertine at a cost of EUR 1.5 million.

Sitting on the steps is prohibited and fined. See Responsible Travel below. The steps are a short walk from the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona.

Garden stairs, enlarged until they became a piece of city. The reference work describes the design as a gigantic inflation of some conventions of terraced garden stairs. The divided and symmetrical flight was devised by Bramante for the Belvedere Courtyard; the shaped and angled steps were introduced by Michelangelo in the vestibule to the Laurentian Library. The Spanish Steps take both and run them up a 29-metre hillside in 135 steps.

The plan is a sequence, not a slope. The flights divide, swing out, meet on landings and divide again, so the stair is never a single straight run and the climb is broken into stages. The outward curves at the turns are what give the staircase its width at the bottom and its taper at the top.

The ornament is a negotiation. The reference work notes that the Bourbon fleur-de-lys and Innocent XIII's eagle and crown are carefully balanced in the sculptural details — the French crown that paid and the pope who built, given equal weight in the carving. The stair runs between two foreign missions: Trinità dei Monti under Bourbon patronage at the top, the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in the Palazzo Monaldeschi at the bottom.

The fountain is designed around a weakness. The Barcaccia sits slightly below street level because the Acqua Vergine — an aqueduct of 19 BCE — delivered too little pressure to raise water higher. Everything that reads as wit follows from that: Turismo Roma records the boat has identical prow and stern in an oval pool, with sides so low it seems about to sink.

Seven outlets, and none of them a jet. Water leaves the fountain at the centre baluster, from two sun-shaped human faces inside the hull, and from four points outside — plus, on Turismo Roma's account, from false cannon-port mouths beside the two coats of arms of Urban VIII with three bees. Low pressure produces a fountain that overflows rather than throws.

It took a death, a contested will, two more deaths and about sixty years of nothing. Étienne Gueffier, French diplomat to the Holy See, died in 1660 leaving part of his fortune for the stairs. Cardinal Mazarin took a personal interest and handed the project to his agent, whose plan included an equestrian monument of Louis XIV — an ambitious intrusion that created a furore in papal Rome. Mazarin died in 1661, the pope in 1667, and a nephew successfully contested the will and claimed half. The project lay dormant until Clement XI Albani revived it in the early 18th century.

The competition result was misreported for two hundred years. The 1717 competition was won by Francesco de Sanctis, though Alessandro Specchi was long thought to have produced the winning entry.

Construction was quick once it started. Turismo Roma gives 1723–26 under Innocent XIII, directed by Francesco De Santis. De Sanctis's drawing was engraved by Girolamo Rossi in 1726 with a long dedication to Louis XV.

The stone began failing almost at once. Joseph de Lalande and Charles de Brosses, writing in the mid-18th century, already noted the steps were in poor condition, and they have been restored repeatedly since — including May to December 1995 and the Bulgari campaign from 8 October 2015 to 21 September 2016, which treated almost 3,000 square metres of travertine, brick, marble and plaster with more than 80 people at a cost of EUR 1.5 million.

The fountain was built to the limit of its water supply. Pietro Bernini had been commissioned by Urban VIII in 1623, and the Barcaccia was completed between 1627 and 1629 — possibly with Gian Lorenzo's help, especially after his father died on 29 August 1629. It was set below street level because of the low pressure of the Acqua Vergine.

How many steps are there? 135, according to the reference work. Counts of 136, 137 and 138 circulate; this page uses the sourced figure.

Is there a charge? No. Turismo Roma publishes neither a price nor an opening hour — it is open public space.

Can I sit on the steps? No. Since July 2019 sitting carries a fine of EUR 250, and up to EUR 400 for dirtying or damaging the steps, including eating on them or pushing a pram up or down them.

Why are they called Spanish if they are French? The name comes from the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, in the Palazzo Monaldeschi at the foot of the steps. The funding came from the French diplomat Étienne Gueffier, who died in 1660, and the church at the top is under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France.

Who designed them? Francesco de Sanctis, who won the competition of 1717 — though Alessandro Specchi was long thought to have produced the winning entry. Turismo Roma gives the construction as 1723–26 under Innocent XIII.

Why does the fountain look like it is sinking? Because it is set below street level: the reference work states Bernini built it that way because of the low water pressure from the Acqua Vergine. Turismo Roma adds that the boat's sides are very low, which completes the effect.

Who built the Barcaccia, and when? The sources differ. Turismo Roma: 1626–29, by Pietro Bernini, father of Gian Lorenzo. The reference work: commissioned from Pietro by Urban VIII in 1623 and completed between 1627 and 1629, possibly with Gian Lorenzo's help after his father's death on 29 August 1629.

What does barcaccia mean? Turismo Roma ties it to the boats used on the Tiber at the nearby port of Ripetta.

Whose house is at the corner? John Keats lived and died there in 1821; it is now a museum. He could hear the fountain from his deathbed, and it gave him his epitaph.

How long should I allow? Twenty to thirty minutes.