Piazza di Trevi, Spanish Steps and Dinner: Rome, Italy

On our first day in Rome, we went to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps and then ended in Italian restaurant.

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres (85.3 feet) high and 20 metres (65.6 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

The fountain gets its name from the fact that it sits at the junction of three roads or in Italian “tre vie”. Traditionally Romans built rather elaborate fountains at the terminal point of their aqueducts.

Supplied by water from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and a triumph of the baroque style, it was based on the design of Nicolo Salvi and was completed in 1762. The design centres on the triumphant figure of Neptunus Rex, standing on a shell chariot drawn by winged steeds and led by a pair of tritons. Two allegorical figures in the side niches represent good health and fertility.

The legend has it that if you throw a coin into this fountain it guarantees your return to Rome. An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome’s needy; however, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

The Trevi Fountain is beautiful, but it can also be overwhelmingly crowded, so keep an eye out while you take pictures and hold on tight to your bags. We were told by our guide again and again to beware of pickpocket so we were very careful when we were in the crowd.

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above — to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located below.

The Spanish Steps are the longest and widest staircase in Europe.

We stopped there on the way to the restaurant for our dinner. There were lots and lots of people everywhere; basically it is a set of steps with the church on the top and fountain at the bottom. But it had the vibe like the Times Square in New York with lots of people on the steps or around the fountains taking pictures, having their lunch or just reading a book.

We climbed the stairs and went to the top of the stair and it was amazing to see so many people from the top.

The streets nearby are full of up-market designer shops likes of Gucci, Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton as well as bars and restaurants and are enjoyable to stroll around in.

If you are tired and want to rest for a while it is a good place to stop while you are in Rome but for us we had around an hour there and it was time for us to meet our guide to go for our dinner.

Disappointing Italian dinner

After our mini tour of Rome, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I have to say this was one of the places where I was disappointed with the food as well as the restaurant itself.

We went to this restaurant and they served us a four course meal.  They started with salad and Bruschetta, followed by Pasta. Then the main was Chicken or Beef and dessert was ice cream with fruits.  Even with so much food, it was just an average experience. There were two musicians playing music during the whole time and a waiter was giving red roses to all the ladies. I found the food bland and the place too crowded.

Inspite of the dinner, overall we had a great day.

Please click here for more photos.