Spanish steps – Piazza di Spagna – Spanish square

Piazza di Spagna is the only place where three distinct elements of urban decor, a fountain, a flight of steps and a church, have become a monument in its own right, as well as a scenic wonder. The church of Trinità dei Monti has dominated the square since 1502. It was built near the monastery founded by St. Francis di Paola in 1493. St. Francis was a hermit from Calabria and was sent by the Pope to Paris to minister to king Louis XI who was seriously ill. At the king's death, his son Charles VIII became his patron and bought him the vast vineyard in Rome where he founded a monastery dedicated to the Minimi Friars. In 1502, Louis XII had the Trinità dei Monti church built next to this monastery, for the French Catholics residing in Rome. The church was consecrated in 1585 by Pope Sistus V who considered it the cornerstone for his ambitious plans of urban development for the city. Its elevated position and the strong upward thrust of its twin bell-towers make it one of the most suggestive landmarks in Rome. The church contains a great number of paintings as well as many private chapels acquired by patrician families like the Orsini, the Altoviti and others. At the end of the XVI century after the Spanish Embassy had established itself in a magnificent palace on the square, a wealthy prelate had another grand residence built there, which he subsequently donated (in 1612) to the influential Jesuit Congregation of the Propaganda Fide. In that period, (between 1627 and 1629) an unusually shaped fountain was built at the foot of the steps. It is known as the Barcaccia (the boat) and was the first of many fountains built in Rome by the architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was commissioned by Pope Urhan VIII (Barberini), and was shaped like a boat with two prows to commemorate the great flond of the Tiber in 1598 when it had been possible to reach this point by boat. In this period, while the French and the Spaniards, as lords of Trinità dei Monti vied with each other for supremacy in the hope of gaining more territorial prestige, interest in this square, that had the fame of being a privileged enclave, began to attract numerous foreigners to Rome. Many taverns, inns, and cafes were opened, and between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, business and commercial activities began to concentrate there as well. Towards the middle of the sixteenth century the French began to plan a flight of steps to connect the square to their church on the hill above, but it was only in 1723 that Pope Innocent XIII decided to name Francesco de Sanctis, whom the French approved of, as the executor of the famous steps. This beautiful stairway gave the square its graceful and elegant seventeenth century touch that was the reason for its popularity during the Romantic and the Art Nouveau periods. These steps have a powerful scenic, almost theatrical effect on the square, which makes them an ideal stage for the annual fashion parade "Donna sotto le Stelle" when the most important Italian and international stylists present their collections.