Rome: Part 7 - "Scalinata di Spagna" (The Spanish Steps)

One of the most popular places to meet in Rome is by the Piazza di Spagna, where you will find the Spanish Steps. Known as the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti or simply Scalinata di Spagna, it consists of 138 steps designed to link the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, located in Palazzo Monaldeschi in the piazza below, leading up to the  French church  Trinita dei Monti, which was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France. The steps were built under the auspices of a French diplomat from 1723-1725.

On the avenue at the top of the steps, Viale della Trinita dei Monti, to the right is the VIlla Medici - considered as one of Rome's best pieces of real state with one of the best views of the city. The palazzo was built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540. It's ownership was transferred to Ferdinando dei Medici when he bought it n 1576, and in 1801 Napoleon acquired it for the French Academy. 

The French Academy was founded in 1666 to provide a place of learning for the talented French artists, writers and musicians, to afford them an opportunity to be exposed to the classical heritage that Rome had to offer.

To the left of the avenue from the church, is a series of luxury, five-star hotels, such as The Hassler Villa Medici, where you can have a fine-dining experience while enjoying the magnificent, panoramic view of Rome, at their top-floor restaurant.

In the 18th century, this was an artist's haven. The most beautiful Italian women and men gathered here in the hopes of being chosen as artist's models. Today, the steps may look like a good place to sit and eat. Sorry, eating is not allowed.

The steps have also been used as the setting for concerts. 

At Christmas time, a 19th century crib is displayed on the first landing of the staircase. On new year's eve, this is the place to be for the countdown. In the month of May, part of the steps are covered by blooming azalea plants.

There is an early Baroque boat-shaped fountain in the center of the piazza,  Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat"), built in 1627-29. It is believed to be the work of Pietro Bernini. 

At the base of the steps, to the right, is a house where the englis poet, John Keats, lived and died. It is now a museum dedicated to his memory.

One of the streets leading up to the piazza is Via Condotti, a shopping delight with boutiques of famous,  big-name Italian Fashion houses - Valentino, Versace, Armani, Fendi, Cavalli, as well as other international fashion brands.

After window-shopping on Via Condotti, having some roasted chestnuts in the piazza, we made it to the top of the steps, to visit the church.

When you come to Rome, don't miss visiting the Piazza di Spagna, where people watching can be quite an interesting experience, and shopping of course! To me, the construction of the Spanish Steps was a very ingenious idea of connecting the high grounds to the low grounds, by Francesco De Sanctis. 

One of the streets leading up to the piazza is Via Condotti, a shopping delight with boutiques of famous,   big-name Italian Fashion houses - Valentino, Versace, Armani, Fendi, Cavalli, as well as other international fashion brands.

As the Christmas season comes to a close, may I wish you all Happy Three Kings. If you can't make it to Rome, take a virtual tour on this site. 

Rome: Part 6 - Hotel de Russie

For us, going anywhere is about location, location, location! The first thought that comes to mind in choosing a hotel in Rome is to find one somewhere around the vicinity of the Spanish Steps. http://www.rome-tours.org/visit-rome/spanish-steps.html  That is where all the action is. This holiday season, the last-minute arrangements we made landed us in Hotel de Russie,.

The family members began to arrive, coming from different places. My daughter and I landed in Ciampino Airport. We queued for a taxi knowing that it was a fixed rate at 30 Euros to get to Rome. By some instinct, my daughter verified the rate in Italian, with the taxi driver before boarding. Her accent was a dead give-away. We were tourists! He wanted 50 Euros. That was a "no go" for us.

Considering the time, since rush hour was coming up in another two hours, we decided to catch the airport bus to the city's train station,...

and hopped onto the metro. We exited at the "Spagna" stop. We were quite satisfied that we got to the center of Rome, all for less than 10 euros, and we did not have to deal with the traffic! But, we had to patiently figure out the directions to take while inside the train/metro stations, without hesitating to ask questions when we felt lost.

We were famished by the time we walked out of the station and the first place we saw was a little pizza place. Those gigantic pizzas sure looked so good.

We ordered a vegetarian one with potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, and onions. When it was handed to us, it was folded like a sandwich...hmmm, I learned something new: that was a practical way to eat it.

We made it to the Piazza Spagna, and began  looking for...

 Via del Babuino (Baboon), to get to our hotel.

Here we are! Hotel de Russie, on Via del Babuino 9 00187 Roma.

It is a luxury five-star hotel located between the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo. This turned out to be a good location for us. It was within walking distance of of the other attractions we wanted to walk to: the fashionable Via Condotti, Piazza Navona, Fontana de Trevi, and the Vatican City.

This was our room, with a view of the terrace garden and the courtyard,...

where you can dine in open-air at Le Jardin de Russie. During the spring and summer seasons, the Stravinskij Bar opens up and extends its boundaries into the garden.

The following morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. I got dressed and got directions to go to church to hear mass. To my delight, the church was just 2 minutes away, in the Piazza del Popolo (People's Square).

Fontana del Nettuno...Historically, the piazza was originally named after the poplar trees in that area. It was designed in neoclassical style by Giuseppe Valadier, between 1811  and 1822.

This is the piazza's northern gate, which used to be the starting point of routes to the north. This was also, for  the travelers who came by foot or other means of transportation, their first view of Rome. 

From this angle, il tridente (trident) is formed with three streets originating from the piazza: Via del Babuino, Via del Corso, and Via di Ripetta. An Egyptian obelisk of Sety, and later erected by Rameses II, is at the center of the square. For centuries, public executions were held here, until 1826

Taking a closer look, these are known as the twin churches, Santa Maria in Montesanto (1679) to the left, and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) to the right. Via del Corso is the street that passes between the two of them. Although the building structures look symmetrical, there are  varying details between the two of them, in Baroque style.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_del_Popolo

I went to the church on the right, Santa Maria dei Miracoli. As I entered at about 6:30 a.m. I soon realized that they gave me the wrong mass information at the hotel lobby. Mass was going to be celebrated at 7:30 and not at 7:00 a.m. By the time mass was about to begin, the church filled up with men and women who were dressed up to go to work.

 I passed by the side aisle to get a glimpse of the nativity scene. It warmed my heart.

The church's main altar...I lingered around to see the side chapels and the captions that told of stories about the faith, the martyred saints, the relics, and more interesting details about the interior furnishings and personalities who were involved with this church at some point or other in her history.

The sun was out when I left the church.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_dei_Miracoli_and_Santa_Maria_in_Montesanto

It was breakfast time at the hotel. This was not the typical intercontinental breakfast included in most hotel packages. It was quite a spread.

This was the healthy table, with sliced fresh fruit and juices, mineral water, and a variety of yogurts.

If you like dried cured-meats, smoked salmon, and Italian cheeses, this  would have been the table of your choice.

This was the high-carb table: breads, cakes, tarts, cereals and nuts. I went for the nuts. 

After a power breakfast, we were on our way to sight-see.

We could not leave Rome without having our gelato fix. We found a gelateria on Via di Ripetta. The cold weather could not keep us from enjoying a cupful of these!

After three days and two nights, it was time to leave. Our stay at Hotel de Russie was quite pleasant and their staff was hospitable. Arrivedeci Roma!

Rome: Part 1 - The Christmas Season at Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps

I had an invitation to go to Rome to meet up with family. What a treat it was. After checking into our hotel, our first stop on our walk was the Christmas market at Piazza Navona.  

As I looked for what was new, I was so enthralled to see the stalls carrying the Bethlehem scenes and characters, as it reminded me of my childhood, and when my kids where young, when they participated in the manger scene characters as the three kings. 

The principal characters for the Christmas scene

New this year: automated scenes of local tradesmen at work

Village people at work, to add to the Italian country-side setting around the manger scene.

This structure will be used as the setting for a live reenactment of when Christ was born, on the eve of and on Christmas day.

As soon as we left the piazza, we headed towards the Spanish Steps. There's a bit of history about these famous steps. 

On via dei Condotti, the place was deserted as it was late at night. When we got to the piazza of the Spanish Steps, we noticed that the Christmas tree lights were turned off. 

The Fendi building was the most brightly lit place.

The Mercedes Benz Christmas tree

The Spanish Steps was a design solution by a young architect, Francesco de Santis, to connect the French Church of Trinita dei Monti that was built in 1425 at the top, to the area below. With his elegant design of twelve ramps leading down the staircase of 138 steps, he was able to get both the French and the Papacy, who had their own issues against one another, to approve this design solution. The execution of the architectural design was funded by a French diplomat, Étienne Gueffier.

In 1723, this became the grand, marble staircase leading to the piazza below. Since then,  other elements have been added. The Sallustian obelisk that was brought to Rome by Octavian Augustus was installed at the top of the staircase in 1789. At the staircase landing, in the piazza, the Barcaccia - a fountain designed by Pietro Bernini in the shape of a boat was added, below the road level, in 1629, as commissioned by Urban VIII Barberini.

When in Rome, a walking tour of this area is a must. From the top and going down down to the piazza leads to the high-fashion houses on via Condotti and  galleries along via Margutta,  for your shopping experience. The cafés and restaurants are tucked in the little streets from via del Babuino, with a few serving what seemed to be delicious, home-cooked meals. 

The name of this place -  Escalinata Española (in Spanish) or Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (in Italian) was in honor of the connection, by location, of the Bourbon Spanish Embassy (ambassador to the Holy See) to the French church. The Bourbon kings of France were the patrons for the  church.This was a neutral name that was acceptable to the French and to the Vatican. 

In an area towards the via del Balbuino, it came to be known as Piazza di Francia. To this present day, the red house on the right side of the staircase - once the residence of the English poet, John Keats, is still there. 

There is much history in this place that is omitted in most of the city tours of Rome. On your own, do an investigative tour and you will have a lovely time. This will be a treasure of discoveries. The Spanish Steps is visited by both the locals and foreigners. It is also a place of gathering for people and  a venue for occasional performances.

Same time last year, this was how it looked.

What a different feeling one gets when the place is filled up with people. You can feel the energy and the life of the place.

It was getting too cold and it was time to call it a day. We took Via del Babuino to get to our hotel. The next day, we went to Florence. I'll tell you about it in my next post.