La Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti, as the Italians call them, are not quite as Spanish as the English name implies. 
The Spanish Steps
Here’s the deal. At the top of the steps there’s a monastery built around 1494 because of Pope Alexander VI and a church beside it built in 1502 because of Louis XII of France after he successfully invaded Naples.
During his time as Pope, Pope Gregory XIII had some drawings made for a set of stairs to the church and monastery. Then Cardinal Mazarin took interest when the French Diplomat Geuffier allocated money for the stairs in his will. When he died in 1661, since the project included a statue that Romans saw as a French intrusion to the Eternal City and a nephew of Gueffier successfully contested the will and received half the funds, the project for the steps died with him.
It was revived when Pope Clement XI Albani showed interest. A competition ensued and Francesco de Sanctis became the architect of the stairs. Over the years, the steps have been restored many times.
So the “Spanish Steps” are actually a French creation. We call them the Spanish steps because of the piazza at the bottom of them. The Piazza di Spagna is called so because of the Spanish Embassy that resides there. So the Spanish Steps are actually a French-funded, Italian-designed structure.
Piazza di Spagna
The fountain in the piazza is called the Fontana della Barcaccia, or fountain of the longboat. It was built between 1627-1629 by Bernini. Pietro Bernini is most famous for fathering the really famous architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It’s recently been proposed that the two even collaborated on the project. Folklore dictates that Pope Urban VIII was so impressed by a boat along the Tiber that he had the fountain installed.
As you can see from my pictures, this place is crowded. It was really hard to move around the piazza. It’s definitely a gorgeous spot visit. Don’t bring a lunch and expect to have a picnic on the steps. Even if the tourism in this spot would allow it, Roma says you can’t do so. They have a few guards keeping a close eye on all visitors.
Allora Studios 