t Fontana della Barcaccia, the least showy of Rome’s Baroque fountains
Shaped like a crooked bow tie and surrounded by tall, shuttered houses painted in muted shades of ochre, pink and cream, Piazza di Spagna is the most famous square in Rome.
The square was long the haunt of expatriates and foreign visitors. In the 17th century the Spanish embassy was here, and the area around it was deemed to be Spanish territory – anyone who unwittingly trespassed was in danger of being dragooned into the Spanish army. In the 18th and 19th centuries the square stood at the heart of the main hotel district, attract-ing visitors from all over the world. Today the piazza is thronged with people all day and, in summer, most of the night. The church at the top of the steps, Trinità dei Monti, founded by the French in 1485, is famous for its breathtaking views.
t Fontana della Barcaccia, the least showy of Rome’s Baroque fountains
Designed either by Gian Lorenzo Bernini or his father, Pietro, this fountain was an ingenious solution to the fact that the water pressure on the square was so low that spectacular cascades were not possible. Instead, the fountain represents a sinking boat, lying half submerged in a shallow pool. Pope Urban VIII Barberini commissioned the fountain in 1627.
Experience Piazza di Spagna and Villa Borghese
t The Spanish Steps with azaleas in full bloom and the church of Trinità dei Monti
Experience Piazza di Spagna and Villa Borghese
" H3 ⌂ Piazza di Spagna 26 # 10am–1pm & 2–6pm Mon–Sat ∑ keats-shelley-house.org
This is where the poet John Keats stayed with his friend, the painter Joseph Severn, in 1820. Suffering from consumption, Keats had been sent to Rome by his doctor, in the hope that it would help him recuperate. Depressed because of scathing criticism of his poetry, and unrequited love, Keats died a few months later aged 25. His death inspired poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to write the poem Mourn not for Adonaïs. Shelley died the following year in a boating accident; both poets are buried in the Protestant cemetery. The house is now a museum dedicated to the Romantic poets.
Experience Piazza di Spagna and Villa Borghese
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EAT Babington’s Tea Rooms These old-fashioned tea rooms were opened in 1896 by Englishwoman Anna Maria Babington to serve homesick British travellers with scones and tea. The menu today also includes burgers, salads, scrambled eggs, muffins and cakes. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. H3 ⌂Piazza di Spagna 23 ∑ babingtons.com ¡¡¡ |