to the Piazza Di Spagna or Spanish Square.
The elegant staircase consists of 137 steps over twelve different flights
The idea of connecting the church with the square below originated from the
17th century, when the French also planned a statue of King Louis XIV
of France at the top of the staircase. As one might imagine, Papal opposition
caused the plans to be shelved until 1723, when this enormous staircase was
built sans the statue. The Italian architect was Francisco de Sanctis.
People navigate to these steps. On Saturday evenings, Italians get all duded up
and struscio, which literally means "to rub shoulders" but figuratively means to
visit. We struscio'd along with the best of them.
