Spanish Steps Rome – Hotel Teatro Pace

Spanish Steps in Rome

 

Hotel Teatro Pace in Rome officially opened in Spring 2004. Located close to the Spanish Steps this 3 star hotel is the ideal hotel for anyone wishing to stay in the centre of Rome.

During the 18th century tens of thousands of Spanish were quartered here near the Spanish Stesps which takes its' name from the Palazzo di Spagna the home of the Spanish Embassy. The steps could easily have been called the French steps though as they were financed by King Louis XV of France. The photo here on the right is of the Trinita dei Monti which is to be found at the top of the Spanish Steps. The Trinita dei Monti is known as the Church of the holy Trinity on the hill and was founded by King Charles VIII of France in 1495 to commemorate his stay in Rome. Inside the church are many wonderful art works including works by students of Raphael and Michelangelo. Click Here to see a virtual tour of the Spanish Steps

Th beautiful staircase built in 1726 consists of 137 travertine steps and is valued not just as a a staircase but as a work of art and its known all over the world as the Spanish Steps. The form of the staircase alludes to the holy trinity with three sets of flights and three main landings leading to the church above. The steps depict the Baroque taste for perspective exaggerating the effect of the height. In the 18th century the steps attracted German artists, poets and English gentlemen who congregated here during their Roman leg of their grand tours of Europe. It was here on the right of the steps in the pink house that Keats died of tuberculosis at the young age of 27.

Spanish Steps

The reputation of the Spanish Steps is known all over the world. It comes from the ever present population of beautiful women who would come here from the rural areas of Italy and parade around the Piazza in the hope of posing for the many artists working in the area at that time. Today you can still see throngs of young Roman males hoping to meet foreign girls. Indeed the popularity of the Spanish Steps have seen a whole host of Restaurants, Cafes, Shops and Hotels opening in this area of Rome with the resut that it is now the most expensive area to live in Rome. Real Estate is also at its' most costly in this area of Rome.

Some of the best shopping in Rome can be found very near the Spanish Steps with the road leading directly away from the steps being the Via dei Condotti or Golden Mile of shopping in Rome. Other famous shopping streets nearby include via del Corso, Via Margutta and via del Babuino.

The fountain in the centre of the Piazza is the Fontana della Barcaccia or the Old Barge or Leaking Boat Fountain. The fountain is in the Baroque style and was designed by Pietro Bernini however, it was probably completed by his more famous son Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1629. It's said that the shape was inspired by a boat washed up here when the River Tiber flooded in 1598. The 3 bees that you see on it represent the family heraldry of Pope Urban VIII from the Barberini family. It was Urban VIII who commissioned Bernini to sculpt the Baldacchino in St Peter's.