The Piazza di Spagna is a square in the centre of Rome, the capital of Italy. It lies at the foot of the Spanish Steps and owes its name to the

Palazzo di Spagna The Palace of Spain ( it, Palazzo di Spagna) or Monaldeschi Palace is a baroque palace that houses the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See since 1647. It does not lodge, on the other hand, the Embassy of Spain in Italy, since this one is in the firs ...

, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. The Column of the Immaculate Conception is in the square.

The square

In the middle of the square is the

Fontana della Barcaccia The Fontana della Barcaccia (; "Fountain of the Boat") is a Baroque-style fountain found at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome's Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Square). Pope Urban VIII commissioned Pietro Bernini in 1623 to build the fountain as p ...

, dating to the beginning of the Baroque period, sculpted by Pietro Bernini and his son

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

. At the right corner of the Spanish Steps rises the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

of the English poet

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

, who lived there until his death in 1821: it is now a museum dedicated to him and his friend

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

, displaying books and memorabilia of English romanticism. At the left corner, there is the Babington's tea room, founded in 1893. The side near Via Frattina is overlooked by the two façades (the main one, designed by

, and the side one created by

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

) of the

Palazzo di Propaganda Fide The Palazzo di Propaganda Fide (in English: Palace of the Propagation of the Faith) is a palace located in Rome, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, then Francesco Borromini. Since 1626, it has housed the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peop ...

, a property of the Holy See. In front of it, actually in a part of Piazza di Spagna named Piazza Mignanelli, rises the Column of the Immaculate Conception, erected in 1856, two years after the proclamation of the dogma. The streets connecting to the square are known for their

luxury shopping In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

stores.

Monuments and places of interest

Palazzi

, seat of the Spanish embassy to the Holy See

Monuments and museums

Trinità dei Monti The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti ( French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. It is best known for its position above ...

* Keats-Shelley Memorial House *

Giorgio De Chirico House The Giorgio de Chirico House Museum (''Casa Museo di Giorgio de Chirico'') is a house museum in the 16th century Palazzetto del Borgognoni at Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna 31 in Rome. The house was acquired by Giorgio de Chirico in 1948. It was ...

* Column of the Immaculate Conception *

Fountain of the Babuino A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

* Spanish Steps *

Schools

Collegio San Giuseppe - Istituto De Merode The Collegio S. Giuseppe-Istituto de Mérode is a Catholic school of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It is located in Rome, Italy, in via San Sebastianello 1, at the corner of Piazza di Spagna, in the rione Campo Marzio. It comprises two b ...

Other

* Babington's tea room *

Spagna (Rome Metro) Spagna is an underground station on Line A of the Rome Metro, in the ''rione'' Campo Marzio, which was inaugurated in 1980. The station is named after the nearby Piazza di Spagna: its main exit is on Vicolo del Bottino, a short stretch of road t ...

References

External links

Old photo and prints
Info.roma.it
Spanish Steps Rome
The official website of the Association of Piazza di Spagna.

* ttp://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen5/f3_rome.html The Spanish Steps- 360° Panorama (QuickTime VR)
Photo gallery

{{Authority control

Spagna Ivana Spagna (born 16 December 1954), also known simply as Spagna (), is an Italian singer and songwriter. She is best known for her worldwide hit song " Call Me" released in 1987. Career Spagna started her career singing in English and in the ...

Baroque architecture in Rome Rome R. IV Campo Marzio