Spaanse Trappen

"Actually, the Spanish Steps in Rome are called Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti, the German name being derived from the Piazza di Spagna, which lies at the foot of the stairs.
Between the church of Santa Tinità the Monti and the Piazza di Spagna was in the time of Pope Innocent XIII in the now well-built urban area, a wild overgrown slope. The pope personally decreed that a stairway should be built here in 1723.
In addition to the interest of the Pope, it was also in the interest of the French king to build a staircase here: For Louis XII had at that time financed the construction of the church on the mountain. Over the steps a solemn ascent to the church should be possible.
But it was not without conflict, as the inscription OPUS AUTEM VARIO RERUM INTERVENTU, ie the "intervening of different things," betrays. The Sun King Louis XIV wanted to complete the stairs with a magnificent equestrian statue of himself. The stairs should become a French monument. That displeased the Pope very much.
The Vatican prevailed, the staircase was finally built in the Italian style. Even today, symbols on the stairs point to the dispute with the French royal family: The staircase is decorated with lilies and eagles, the symbols of the French kings and the then pope.
The Spanish Steps are divided into three parts: a wide tripartite staircase leads to the first terrace. Then it goes on up, the stairs flow around a second terrace. The last part leads up to the church Trinità dei Monti. The tripartite division of the staircase refers to the Holy Trinity of the church.
Once the steps are curved inwards (convex) and once outwards (concave), the characteristic shape of the structure is created.
The staircase is 23 meters high, 68 meters long and the middle terrace is 40 meters wide.
By the way, there is also something to discover in the square in front of the staircase: the Fontana della Barcaccia fountain in Piazza di Spagna from 1629 has the shape of a barge. This is said to have been flushed at this point in a flood of the Tiber.
Today, the Spanish Steps is one of the most popular meeting places for tourists and the inhabitants of Rome. At the stairs and the Piazza the Spagna is always something going on. "Source: rom.sehenswuerdigkeiten-online.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/spanische_treppe.html

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