|
For centuries Rome has been the city
of art; painters and sculptors have flocked here, the greatest architects
have designed its churches and buildings.
Apart from its famous museums, there are also collections, palaces, churches
housing extraordinary works of art, streets whose history is lost in time.
Just
200 meters away
from Hotel dei Borgognoni visit the beautiful Piazza di Spagna,
the only place where three distinct elements of urban decor, a
fountain, a flight of steps and a church, have become a monument
in its own right, as well as a scenic wonder. The church of
Trinità dei Monti has dominated the square since 1502. It was
built near the monastery founded by St. Francis di Paola in
1493. Between 1627 and
1629 an unusually shaped fountain was built at the foot of the
steps. It is known as the Barcaccia (the boat) and was the first
of many fountains built in Rome by the architect Gian Lorenzo
Bernini. Towards the middle of the
sixteenth century the French began to plan a flight of steps to
connect the square to their church on the hill above, but it was
only in 1723 that Pope Innocent XIII decided to name Francesco
de Sanctis, whom the French approved of, as the executor of the
famous steps. This beautiful stairway gave the square its
graceful and elegant seventeenth century touch that was the
reason for its popularity during the Romantic and the Art
Nouveau periods.
Not very far from there you’ll find the famous fountain
Fontana Di Trevi. Although it’s quite hard to find it, since the piazza is
so small. Nicola Salvi built the fountain during the 1700-ties. In the middle
is a statue of the god of the ocean/water, Neptunus. The legend says, though, that if you throw a coin, over
your shoulder, into the Fontana Di Trevi you’ll one day return to Rome. The
community of Rome now and then take up all the coins in the fountain and
gives it away to charity. |
 |
