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The Spanish StepsPiazza di Spagna, the Spanish Steps, has been for ages the stopping and arrival point of horse-carts that, coming from Porta del Popolo (the northern gate of the city) carried the foreigners downtown. It is now an incredible, almost theatrical square and international meeting point in Rome, famous for the lovely 135 Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti). The staircase, which was inaugurated in 1725 (Jubilee Year) by Pope Benedict XIII, was originally used to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Church of Trinità dei Monti. The name derives indeed from the Spanish Embassy (since 1647) to the Holy See that was – and is - located in the southern side of the piazza. The Spanish diplomats decided to renovate the building in 1653. Antonio Del Grande was charged with the project and probably made use of some drawings previously realized by Borromini. The façade got embellished at the level of piano nobile with two ligneous balconies, holding five windows on the left and three on the right. However the interiors were most significantly renewed: it was built a larger lobby with vaults supported by twin columns; the great staircase with a balustrade; the courtyard with lovely arcade closed by large windows, alternated by square pillars, showing the Spanish king's coat of arms on the capitals. The short French domination of Rome required the temporary occupation of the building from the Napoleonic troops. During that period, the edifice underwent a radical renewing of the façade due to the work of the Spanish architect Antonio Celles: no more balconies and penultimate floor's windows, while the other windows were changed. There was another important change in 1898: the main entrance staircase was decorated with a gorgeous fresco representing the The Delivery of the Keys of Granada, made by A. Ballester. In 1932, the edifice had the last renovation work, marked by a central balcony holding three windows. In front of the building, it rises the Column of the Immaculate Conception, deeply wanted by Pope Pius IX in 1857, to commemorate the Immaculate Conception's dogma, defined three years earlier. The impressive work of art was made by the architect Luigi Paoletto, who designed a complex monument: big polychromatic marble base, "animated" by steps, seats, four statues representing Moses, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel; four bas-relieves depicting the Definition of the Dogma, St Joseph Dream, the Coronation of Mary and the Annunciation. The other original building of the piazza is the College Of Propaganda Fide, erected by Bernini and terminated by Borromini. The College, which had the purpose to train Catholic Missionaries to spread out the faith around the world, was instituted by Pope Urban VIII in 1626 (the building is also known indeed as Collegio Urbano). The façade is characterized by square pillars, isolating vertically four series of windows; there is an ashlar-work portal with triangular tympanum, surmounted by a huge plaque with the following Latin inscription COLLEGIUM URBANUM DE PROPAGANDA FIDE. The latter is crowned by the Barberini's coat of arms belonging to Urban VIII between two swags. The Oratory of the Three Kings – built by Bernini in 1633, but later demolished and remade as it currently is by Borromini (Italian, Oratorio dei Re Magi) - is annexed to the College. It is a marvellous stuccoed hall, with diagonal stripes that divide the ceiling into lozenges. The fountain known as the 'Barcaccia' (boat), at the foot of the staircase, was commissioned by Urbano Barberini to commemorate the alliance made with the King of France, whose coat of arms can be seen on Trinità dei Monti. The fountain was realized by Pietro Bernini, Gian Lorenzo's father, while his son made the side decorations. The name only apparently depreciative (Italian "barcaccia" is pejorative of "barca", ship) derives from the ships used to carry the wine from the nearby port of Ripetta. The fountain symbolizes the ingeniousness of Bernini's oeuvres: a ship than seems to sink, so made to avoid the problem of low hydrostatic pressure of the fountain. The bees and the suns decorating the fountain are the symbols of Urban VIII's family, the Barberini. The building on the right side of the Spanish Steps, called "Casina Rossa", belonged to the lady Anna Angeletti, that used to rent rooms of her big house. The English poet Keats stayed there with his friend, the painter Joseph Severn, and both were incredibly enthusiastic of that place. In 1906 the building was bought by Keats-Shelley Memorial House with the noble intention of making a literary temple in honour of the Romantic English poets. The edifice was restored and set as library and museum: it has been open to the public in 1909. The opposite side of the staircase exhibits the twin building, that strictly repeats the structural and decorative elements of the Casina Rossa. The basement homes the Babington's tearoom, founded in 1893 for want of two enterprising English ladies, Miss Babington e Miss Cargill. They had been able (investing the total amounts to a hundred pounds) to create one of the most renowned tearooms in town and to spread the "tea culture" in Rome. At Christmas an evocative crib is erected halfway up; in spring the steps are adorned with huge tubs of azaleas and one of the most important fashion shows is held here, the steps being used as a catwalk. You will never forget it!
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