Piazza di Spagna

This irregular square at the foot of the Spanish Steps takes its name from the Spanish embassy that has long stood nearby. At its centre sits the Fontana della Barcaccia, a boat-shaped fountain by Pietro Bernini and his son designed to sit low because of weak water pressure. The square has long been a gathering place for visitors and artists, ringed by elegant shops and the house where the poet John Keats spent his final months, now a museum. A tall column honouring the Immaculate Conception rises at its southern end.