Spanish Steps 🇮🇹

The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) are a monumental 135-step staircase located in Rome, Italy. Ascending a steep 29-meter (95-foot) slope on a shoulder of the Pincian Hill, the site links the Piazza di Spagna at its base to the Piazza Trinità dei Monti above. At the summit, the structure is dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, and the surrounding elevated area provides pathways toward the Pincio ramp and the Villa Medici.

Historically connected to the French-backed church at the top and the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See at the bottom in the Palazzo Monaldeschi, the staircase was built following long-standing debates over how to urbanize the incline. Early plans date back to the 1580s under Pope Gregory XIII, followed by a funding bequest from French diplomat Étienne Gueffier in 1660. The project was revived in the early 18th century under Pope Clement XI. Architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi designed the terraced structure after a 1717 competition, weaving decorative motifs like the Bourbon fleur-de-lys and Pope Innocent XIII's eagle and crown into the masonry.

At the base of the staircase within the Piazza di Spagna stands the Fontana della Barcaccia, an Early Baroque fountain built between 1627 and 1629 by Pietro Bernini, with credited collaboration from his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Several notable landmarks rim the square, including the house where English poet John Keats lived and died in 1821—now a museum dedicated to Romantic literature—alongside Babington's tea room, the Giorgio De Chirico House, and the Palazzo di Spagna.

Seasonal displays frequently adorn the staircase throughout the year. A 19th-century nativity scene is placed on the lower landing during the Christmas season, while potted azaleas line the steps from mid-April through early May around the anniversary of Rome's founding. The site also traditionally accommodates a small cut-flower market.

To protect the site's extensive travertine stone, brick, marble, and plasterwork, the steps have undergone several restorations, including a major project completed in 2016 sponsored by the luxury brand Bulgari, located on nearby Via dei Condotti. Municipal regulations strictly govern visitor conduct on the monument, prohibiting eating, loitering, and sitting on the stairs to safeguard decorum and preserve the structural integrity of the site.

Spanish Steps in pictures