The Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy

When we visited Rome, Italy last August 2010, one of the sights that I wanted to visit was Piazza di Spagna. This is where you see the so-called in English as Spanish Steps. I thought I can only see it in travel books or in the internet, but it was a dream came true seeing it in person.

Spanish steps is a set of steps climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti. It is called Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti in Italian. You can see the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti on the top-end of the steps.

Opposite the Spanish Steps is the the narrow Via Condotti, home to many of Rome's designer shops. I am looking for an electronic shop here that sells cheap desktops but I did not find one. Here, you can find famous branded shops like Gucci,Prada, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Fendi, Cartier, Armani and some other more.

taken during our four-day trip in Rome last August 2010. I love this city! The foregound is a fountain called Fountain of the Old Boat.

In the Piazza at the base is the Early Baroque fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat"), built in 1627-29 and often credited to Pietro Bernini, father of a more famous son, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who is recently said to have collaborated on the decoration. The elder Bernini had been the pope's architect for the Acqua Vergine, since 1623. According to an unlikely legend, Pope Urban VIII had the fountain installed after he had been impressed by a boat brought here by a flood of the Tiber river.