Rome, VIA SISTINA: the chic street
on top of the Spanish Steps

For a complete presentation, please visit the specific pages on the streets of the quarter:

• The Spanish Steps
• Trevi Fountain
• Via Sistina and Piazza Trinita' de' Monti (this page)
• The Borghese Gardens
• Via della Croce
• Via del Babuino, Via San Giacomo, Via dei Greci, Via del Corso
• Via delle Carrozze
• Via Mario Fiori and Via Frattina

Very popular with visitors to Rome, the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Spagna) and the adjacent piazza and church date back to 1725. Although they were built with a legacy from the French, they were named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See (the embassy is still situated in the piazza.)

The striking architecture of the area was designed by Pope Sixtus V, a renowned town planner of the time. Through the centuries, millions of visitors have walked the Spanish Steps and admired their timeless beauty.

The marble plate of Piazza Trinita' dei Monti

Forest of domes seen from top of the Spanish Steps.

The Villa Medici

The Piazza includes the French convent with obelisk (you will find the photos in the page presenting the Spanish Steps quarter). As you walk on its stairs, you can see the domes of the photo above (particularly of the Church of San Carlo al Corso and of St. Peter. From the Piazza you can walk directly to the Borghese Gardens, and on the way you will find the most elegant and panoramic Villa Medici, formerly the Rome residence of the Medici family, and now seat of the French Academy.

The Hassler Hotel In the opposite direction from the Piazza you walk through Via Sistina. You find here among the most famous hotels of Rome: the celebrated Hassler, the Intercontinental - De La Ville, and the Scalinata di Spagna, revealing that you are in one of the most desirable places in the world. Naturally prices are astronomical, and international celebrities are usually guests of the hotels. The Hassler includes also one of Rome's finest restaurants, situated in a panoramic terrace with stunning views of Rome. Via Sistina is traditionally the site of Rome chic fashion parlours and of very fine shops. Even "window-shopping" is a rewarding experience. The shops are naturally a great temptation for your wallet. Gilded plates remind the importance of the "haut coutoure" (high fashion) boutiques.

the Intercontinental-De La Ville hotel High Fashion: TDM parlour, note the obelisk on top of the Spanish Steps mirrored.

Renato Balestra's shop

High fashion: Harper's boutique The street though has also more common, though very useful and attended shops and premises.

Shoe shop

The Sistina Theatre

For ex. you find the best shoe shops in town (although in Rome there are so many). The street is also pleasant to stroll about, and is also the location of one of Rome's most famous theatres, with the same name of the street, the "Sistina". It usually performs quality musicals of Roman composer and authors about Rome's culture, both of the previous centuries (the so called "Roma sparita" or vanished Rome), and also of contemporary life.

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