The view from the top
From Trinità dei Monti, Rome's rooftops open out with Via dei Condotti running straight below — the best shot of the whole quarter.
One hundred and thirty-five steps widening, narrowing and curving up from Piazza di Spagna to the church of Trinità dei Monti — not merely a staircase but a piece of Baroque architecture designed in 1725 as a stage for people to sit on. And sit they did, for three centuries, until the city banned it in 2019 to protect the marble. At the base sits the Barcaccia: a fountain shaped like a sinking boat, carved by Pietro Bernini (father of the more famous one), inspired by a Tiber flood that pushed a boat into the square. At the top stand an Egyptian obelisk and a view over Rome's rooftops that justifies the climb alone. The surrounding quarter is luxury shopping: Via dei Condotti runs straight from the steps, carrying Italy's great fashion houses. In April the steps are banked with flowers, an annual set-piece photographers know well. Remember the new rule: standing and photographing are fine; sitting or eating on the steps draws a fine.
From Trinità dei Monti, Rome's rooftops open out with Via dei Condotti running straight below — the best shot of the whole quarter.
A sinking marble boat at the base, its water drinkable like Rome's other fountains — refill your bottle free.
The pink house right of the steps where the poet John Keats died in 1821 — a small quiet museum that readers, and few others, seek out.
Yes, as a short stop: twenty minutes for the climb, the view and the fountain. But if you pictured sitting with gelato as in the films, that is no longer possible — use the surrounding cafés instead.
The piazza is the lower level with the Barcaccia and the metro; the steps climb from it to the church. In practice both names describe the same spot, one step apart.
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Piazza di Spagna, Rome
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