Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps

In front of you, Rome's most famous staircase curves its way up to the church of Trinità dei Monti. The square takes its name from the Palazzo di Spagna on its south side, home since the 17th century of Spain's embassy to the Holy See.

1A staircase between neighbours

For centuries the slope was a muddy bank between the square, in Spain's sphere, and the church at the top, under French protection. The Spanish Steps were built between 1723 and 1725 to a design by Francesco De Sanctis, largely paid for by a bequest from the French diplomat Étienne Gueffier. Their flights, opening out and narrowing again, turned them into a stage: in the 19th century, models waited here for painters in search of a face.

2A boat in the middle of the square

At your feet is the Fontana della Barcaccia, a half-sunken boat made by Pietro Bernini between 1627 and 1629, probably with help from his son Gian Lorenzo. Because the water from the aqueduct arrived here with very little pressure, the fountain was set almost at ground level.

According to tradition, the fountain recalls a boat left stranded in this square by the great Tiber flood of 1598.

3Poets and travellers

In the house to the right of the steps, the English poet John Keats died in 1821; today it is the Keats-Shelley House. This area was the quarter of artists and Grand Tour travellers. Today a city regulation forbids sitting on the steps, to protect the monument.

4What to look for

• The suns and bees on the Barcaccia, emblems of Pope Urban VIII Barberini.
• The obelisk in front of Trinità dei Monti, a Roman imitation of an Egyptian one.
• The Column of the Immaculate Conception, at the south end, next to the embassy.