The sloping piazza, the grand staircase and the church with twin towers: Rome's most romantic corner, plus the artists' quarter of Via Margutta behind it.
עודכן לאחרונה 23 באוגוסט 2026
In a nutshell: the Spanish Steps are the grand staircase of Rome, climbing from Piazza di Spagna to Trinità dei Monti, with the Barcaccia fountain at the foot and the Keats-Shelley House on the corner. The artists' lanes of Via Margutta lie just behind. From here the Trevi Fountain and the Corso and Quirinale are a short stroll away, and the district overview ties it all together.
Few sights in Rome are as recognisable as this sloping square, the sweep of steps above it and the church with its twin towers, a combination of beauty and an indefinable Roman air that feels deeply romantic. Pushing through the crowds of the piazza, climbing the staircase and finally stepping into the church that crowns it all is a moment to relish.
Romans have been gathering in this square since the 15th century, swapping gossip as much as meeting up, but its finest hour arrived in the 1800s, when tourists, wealthy merchants and foreign royalty flocked in and the city started calling it 'il salotto di Roma', its drawing room. As for the unusual name, credit the embassy of Spain to the Holy See, which has been in the corner on the right as you face the steps since the 17th century.
Tip: Come at first light: an empty Piazza di Spagna is rare, and by mid-morning the square is packed. Someone will always have had the same idea as you, but the earlier you go the better your odds.
Mid-square sits the celebrated Barcaccia, a model of baroque design and an emblem of this corner of Rome. Pietro Bernini oversaw the work with help from his son Gian Lorenzo, whose later fame would dwarf his father's. The name is thought to reference the flat-bottomed boats that once plied the Tiber, and the fountain's look, a hull half-submerged with only bow and stern showing, may equally recall the river's ruinous floods, a constant threat until 19th- and 20th-century engineering curbed them. The Colonna dell'Immacolata Concezione, another familiar monument, also rises here.
A spot of shopping: the piazza doubles as an open-air showcase for luxury retail, with flagship stores of several global brands, so any serious spree has to pass through it. Note that these shops tend to open late in the morning; no need to dash over at dawn.
The official name is Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, though English speakers have always stuck to the shorter, more evocative version. Built during the 18th century, the stairway was meant to give the Pincio hill a proper link to the piazza, replacing the steep, muddy climb that came before. It rises in 11 ramps of 12 steps each; there is plenty of space, fortunately, to rest and enjoy the view of the square far below.
Tip: Sitting on the steps is forbidden and the fines are steep. Police officers patrol constantly and will ask anyone sitting down to stand up.
At the top of the staircase, in front of Trinità dei Monti, yet another obelisk stands against the sky. The Sallustian obelisk was probably made between the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE to copy genuine Egyptian monuments, so faithfully that the hieroglyphs carved along its sides are not actually correct.
Rare among Roman churches for its two belltowers, Trinità dei Monti dominates the view across the piazza. Charles VIII of France ordered its construction in the 16th century, which is why it has always been known as the French king's church in Rome. The panorama from its steps is stunning, but save time for the interior too: Daniele da Volterra's Renaissance frescoes are remarkable, and his Deposition (1541) is often ranked among the finest works of mannerist art.
Over the centuries this quarter has attracted artists of every kind, and many of them left something behind; the route below strings together the best of it. Set out on Via Margutta and finish at the Keats-Shelley House: about 1.4 km, 50 minutes at a gentle pace.
In a city where sights that would take centre stage anywhere else end up in the 'only for those in the know' category, the Keats-Shelley House is the home where English poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats stayed during their Roman visit, and where Keats actually died of tuberculosis in 1821, aged only 25. The house is now a monument to their work and to the wider world of Romantic literature, which also fills its remarkably rich library. It sits right on the corner of the Spanish Steps, so it is easy to walk past while the crowds around the piazza take all the attention.
Official site →The Romantics: John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, together with Lord Byron, belong to the so-called 'second generation' of Romantic poets in English literature. Sooner or later all three found their way to Rome, whether to leave England behind in the tradition of the Grand Tour or because they had broken every family and friendship bond at home. Two of them remain in Rome: Keats was buried in the Protestant cemetery in the rione Testaccio immediately after his death in 1821, and Shelley, who drowned off the shores of Tuscany barely a year later, was brought back to Rome to be buried not far from Keats.
Yes. Sitting on the steps is forbidden and carries steep fines, and police officers patrol constantly, asking anyone sitting down to stand up.