PIAZZA DI SPAGNA

Description

Essentials about Piazza di Spagna in brief

Piazza di Spagna (“Spanish Square”) is one of the squares in Rome that almost every visitor to Rome has seen, and not just because of the world-famous Spanish Steps. It is also one of the most beautiful squares in the city and, for both locals and tourists, one of the most popular meeting places.

The history of Piazza di Spagna

The square takes its name from Palazzo di Spagna, which houses the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See, and the fact that for centuries it was an extraterritorial possession of Spain. It has the shape of an elongated triangle. At the northern, wider end, the Spanish Steps connect the Church of Santa Trinità dei Monti to the square. In front of it stands the Fontana della Barcaccia, a fountain in the shape of a beached boat built by Pietro Bernini in 1627-1629. At the southern, narrower end stands the Palazzo di Spagna, built in 1620.

In front of it is the Colonna dell’Immacolata (“The Column of the Immaculate”), erected in 1856 by Pope Pius IX two years after the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was promulgated. On the feast day of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, the Pope traditionally comes to pray at the column.

Incidentally, Piazza di Spagna is also the center of Rome’s fashion district. Especially Via Condotti, which starts from here, where all the most important Italian fashion brands are represented with stores, is a paradise for all fashionistas.