The Piazza di Spagna is a square in the centre of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the capital of Italy. It lies at the foot of the

Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps () in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairway of 135 steps is linked with the Trinit� ...

and owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. The Column of the Immaculate Conception is in the square.

The square

In the middle of the square is the Fontana della Barcaccia, 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 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

. 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 c ...

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, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

, 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 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered 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 durin ...

, 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 Switzerland, 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 Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

. The streets connecting to the square are known for their luxury shopping stores.

Monuments and places of interest

Palazzi

* Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Spanish embassy to the

Monuments and museums

* Trinità dei Monti * Keats-Shelley Memorial House * Giorgio De Chirico House * Column of the Immaculate Conception * Fountain of the Babuino *

* Fontana della Barcaccia

Schools

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

Other

* Babington's tea room * Spagna (Rome Metro)

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 singing career in the early 1970s w ...

Baroque architecture in Rome Rome R. IV Campo Marzio