Piazza di Spagna, Baroque square at the foot of Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy
Piazza di Spagna is a Baroque square at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. The Fontana della Barcaccia sits at the center, while the wide staircase climbs the hillside toward the Trinità dei Monti church.
The square emerged in the 17th century as a diplomatic hub around the Spanish embassy to the Vatican. The staircase was built in the mid-18th century to link the lower district with the hilltop church.
The square takes its name from the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, housed in the adjacent palazzo since the 17th century. The Keats-Shelley House at the base of the steps preserves manuscripts and mementos of the English poets who lived here.
The Spagna metro station on Line A brings visitors directly to the square, located near the luxury shopping streets Via Condotti and Via Frattina. The square can get crowded, especially in the late afternoon and evening when passersby and tourists gather on the steps.
The Fontana della Barcaccia is shaped like a sinking boat and was designed by Pietro Bernini because the water pressure from the ancient aqueduct was too low for a tall fountain. The bees in the crest on the fountain recall the papal Barberini family who funded its construction.
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