Piazza di Spagna

Rome, Italy

17 reviews
Overview

Here you can live at the very heart of Rome, overlooking the Spanish Steps in spacious rooms with tiled floors and high, beamed ceilings painted in soft colours. Become a Friend of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association and stay at Piazza di Spagna.

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  • Bed in Living RoomBed in Living Room
  • ShowerShower

Beds 2 Single, 1 Double

Sleeps
3 +1
4 nights from
£1800 equivalent to £112.50 per person, per night

Views almost unchanged since the Grand Tour

This high-ceilinged apartment is on the third floor of the Keats Shelley House, named after the two young poets who died in Italy in 1821 and 1822. It has captivating views from every window, unchanged since those days when the Piazza di Spagna was the favourite haunt of the British ‘milords’ on their Grand Tour. We have restored the apartment to how it was around 1821 when poet John Keats died of tuberculosis here on the floor below, today run as a museum by the Keats Shelley Memorial Association. The rooms are identical in form and layout. The sitting-room looks up the Spanish Steps – the world’s grandest and most sophisticated outdoor staircase - to the Baroque splendour of the church of S. Trinita dei Monti, framing a view of one the best-loved sites in Rome. Just outside the front door is a Bernini fountain, a stone boat rising from the cobbles of Piazza di Spagna.

The Spanish Steps

The Steps were designed in 1721 by Francesco de Sanctis, who also designed this house to fit in with his plan. From the apartment you have a grandstand view of the people watchers on the steps. There is hardly any motor traffic, but instead all the noises of humanity, some of them very unusual – for example when the steps are cleared by water-cannon, or when the horse-drawn cabs, which form a rank at the far end of the Piazza, arrive over the cobbles at the start of each day.

The price of the stay includes membership for the lead booker to the Friends of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association. All guests staying in the apartment will be invited to visit the museum and take a tour led by one of the guides and to participate in any KSMA events held during their stay where possible.

Floor Plan

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Map & local info

Piazza di Spagna, with its beacon of S. Trinità dei Monti, is a great point of orientation at the heart of Rome’s narrow streets. The Landmark is right on this sensational Piazza, just above one of the shrines of English Romanticism, the Keats-Shelley House.

Take in the view up the Spanish Steps to the church of S. Trinità dei Monti, matched only by the vista across Rome’s rooftops at the summit. Bernini’s famous Barcaccia fountain is a place to meet and mingle. Centrally placed Piazza di Spagna is perfectly placed for exploring Rome’s many sites.

Looking north, one might walk up Via del Babuino, pausing at the antique shops, studios and galleries in the famous Via Margutta, the neighbourhood of Picasso, Puccini and Fellini, which featured in the classic movie, Roman Holiday. The neoclassical Piazza del Popolo with its twin baroque churches is only a few steps away. The Basilica of S. Maria del Popolo holds masterpieces by Raphael, Caravaggio and Bernini, among others.

West of the Piazza lies the fashion district, with haute-couture centred around via Condotti and via Frattina and more high street shopping on Via del Corso. You might want to take a break in the elegant Antico Caffè del Greco where Goethe, Stendhal, Wagner and many other celebrities of the past gathered to discuss literature and arts, sipping one of the best coffees in the city centre.  

Facing the southern end of the Piazza, disciples of the baroque might enjoy the Propaganda Fide palace and the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, burial site of Angelica Kauffman. The Trevi Fountain, and some lovely ice cream shops, is less than fifteen minutes’ walk south from here. The nearby Quirinale Hill, seat of the President’s residence, boasts two of the greatest jewels of Roman baroque, Sant’Andrea al Quirinale and San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Santa Maria della Vittoria, with its theatrical Ecstasy of Santa Teresa, is along the same road, on Via XX Settembre.

For a romantic stroll, go up the Spanish Steps and turn left, where you can enjoy a breath-taking view over the city from the Pincio Hill. Take a picnic in one of the gardens of Villa Borghese, hire a paddle-boat or a bicycle to discover its hidden treasures, such as Lord Byron’s statue. Be sure to book in a visit to the Borghese Gallery to admire works including Bernini’s Apollo & Daphne and Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love.

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History

The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association

The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association has overcome difficulties of many kinds since its successful purchase of 26, Piazza di Spagna in 1906.  One of the most serious arose in 1973, when a law was passed freezing all rents in Rome. This meant that the income from letting flats in the house would, before very long, fail to cover the running costs. Accordingly, in 1977, an appeal was launched to raise money for an endowment which would give the Association a sound and independent financial base.

One of the bodies the Association approached for help was the Manifold Trust, the grant-giving charity set up in 1962 by John Smith which has, among other things, been the main benefactor of the Landmark Trust.  John Smith suggested that in this case, the Landmark might be better placed to help.  Was there a part of the building that the Landmark could take on and let for experiences, in return for financial support, then and in the future?

It so happened that the flat on the third floor was about to become empty, on the retirement of the Curator, Signora Cacciatore. The Association could ill afford the renovation needed before the apartment could be re-let and so Landmark agreed to lease the flat and to pay for whatever repairs and improvements were necessary. The presence of Landmarkers continues the fine tradition of British travellers staying on the Spanish Steps.

A short history of Piazza di Spagna

Read the full history album for Piazza di Spagna

Restoration

Minor improvements undertaken

Plans were drawn up by early 1979 but proceeded no further for two years, during which time they disappeared into the intricate workings of the Roman planning system.  The main problem was the proposal to move the bathroom partition, because of concern for the painted ceiling above it.  Permission was eventually given, however, and work was able to start.  Apart from the alteration to the bathroom, this consisted mainly of renewing services, relaying floors, repairing windows, improving the kitchen and redecorating. 

Little was done to alter the original appearance of the flat, contrary to the suspicions of Roman neighbours, who repeatedly alerted the police to dreadful things happening in the 'Casa Rossa', prompting them to call to 'repress irregularities'.  The painted ceilings, which were flaking and stained in places by damp, were carefully restored by a very old and skilful craftsman, who also painted the trompe l'oeil panelling for the dados. 

 
In the hall, some existing hexagonal tiles were relaid, with new cotto floors elsewhere.  Finally, the flat was carefully furnished with Italian furniture, but with an eye to English comfort, rather in the manner of an Englishman who has lived all his life in Italy.

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