How many steps do the famous “Spanish Steps” in Rome have?

With a characteristic butterfly plan, the Spanish Steps is one of the most famous images in the world, as well as being one of the most majestic urban monuments of Roman Baroque style. The monumental stairway of 135 steps (the slightly elevated drainage system is often mistaken for the first step, thus making a false total of 136) was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds in 1723–1725, linking the "Trinità dei Monti" Church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France – located above – and the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See – located below – in Palazzo Monaldeschi, at "Piazza di Spagna". The stairway was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi. At the end of the XVII century, it was called "Trinità dei Monti", after the church that dominates the square from above, but it was later given the name we know today after the Spanish Ambassador who lived there.

At the foot of the stairs, in the "Piazza di Spagna" or Spanish Square, there is the famous "Barcaccia" or Long Boat Fountain, attributed to Pietro Bernini and his son, Gian Lorenzo. The Spanish Steps have been restored several times, most recently from October 8, 2015, and the steps reopened on September 21, 2016.

In the piazza, at the corner on the right as one begins to climb the steps, is the house where English poet John Keats lived and died in 1821. The Spanish Steps have featured in several famous films.