My tours of Rome visit Trevi Fountain

MY TOURS OF ROME VISIT THE SPANISH STEPS

The Spanish steps are really very close to the Trevi Fountain ( 5 walking minutes) and were built by the architect Francesco De Sanctis in 1732.

The famous roman staircase is composed by 137 steps divided in 3 sections in memory of the Holy Trinity and of the french church on top, dedicated to the Trinity too ( Trinita' dei Monti ).

The marble travertine monument stands over the Gardens of Lucullus, which at the roman times stretched back over the Pincian Hill. At the bottom of the spanish steps there is a Bernini's fountain, called " La Barcaccia" that has a shape of a boat, in memory of a Tiber river's flood that devastated Rome in 1598. The genious mind of Bernini planned a fountain to be stuck several inches under the soil to prevent the low pressure of the water in that point of Rome.
The Barcaccia fountain is the last work of Bernini's father ( Peter Bernini ) in Rome before his death and was carved in cooperation with his great son Gian Lorenzo who at the time of the fountain was only 22 years old.

Do you know that the water of Spanish steps is the same water of Trevi Fountain?

Yes it is

It's the same underground aqueduct built by Agrippa, son in law of Augustus in the first century AD with the purpose to bring the water in the district called " Campo Marzio", that in that time was considered outside of the Rome's city wall.

If you take a walking tour of Rome with me that starts from the Spanish steps and goes to Trevi, I will show you the remains of the "Aqua Virgo" ( virgin water ) aqueduct between Trevi and Spagna.

The staircase was is called " Spanish" for the presence of the spanish embassy to the vatican in Rome, but they should really be the " French Steps ", because they owe their existence to the generosity of a French diplomat, M. Gouffier, and lead up to the french church, the Trinita' dei Monti, and to the Villa Medici, now the National French Academy in Rome.

In May each year the steps are decorated with pink azaleas.

Most of the travelers of the last century mention the models who once lounged there in picturesque costumes and attitudes, waiting to be hired by artists.
At the bottom of the spanish steps there is Via Condotti that takes the name from the pipes of the acqueduct that still today feeds these two important Rome monuments.

Are you too tired to walk on top of the steps or you are at the bottom and you have your hotel on top of the spanish steps?

No Problem!

If you go to the metro stop called " Spagna" located at the bottom of the steps in Vicolo del Bottino , there is an elevator that works from 6.00 am until 9.00 in the evening and can give you a ride until the obelisk located in front of the Trinity french church ( Trinita' dei Monti ).

Please refer to my Rome metro map page to understand that the metro A crosses the Spanish Steps.

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