STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Stairway to Heaven - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Stairway to Heaven | |||||
| By: Andrew Conway, Issue 31 – Winter 2007 | |||||
| (Rome, Italy) | |||||
| THE LEGENDARY SPANISH STEPS, IN THE HEART OF ROME, WILL GUIDE YOU TO THE CITY’S BEST SHOPPING, RESTAURANTS AND LUXURY HOTELS.PIQUE-NIQUE. | |||||
| If, as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome, then all roads in Rome surely lead to the Spanish Steps, arguably the most famous public staircase in the world. Tucked inside a super-stylish enclave of historic streets and winding alleyways, bordered by the mighty Via del Corso and Via del Tritone, and home to some of the city’s best five star hotels, restaurants, cafés and boutiques in the Eternal City, the Spanish Steps – or Scalinata di Spagna – are one of Rome’s major attractions for tens of thousands of visitors, literary buffs, retail therapists, and incurable romantics who flock here each day to revel and relax in this truly gorgeous setting. Built in 1725, rising in several graceful tiers between vast Italianate villas, and crowned by two panoramic viewing platforms, this legendary stairway underwent a major renovation 10 years ago, but still oozes a languid, la dolce vita-style charm with every step. Named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, which is still located in the Piazza di Spagna at the foot of the stairway, the Spanish Steps are to Rome what the Leaning Tower is to Pisa and St Mark’s is to Venice. From dawn to dusk and well into the evening, as the setting sun creeps slowly down the staircase,the Spanish Steps are like a mini- Colosseum with throngs of people using them as both seats and stairs. One of the city’s great people-watching venues, it’s a veritable catwalk of sharpsuited executives, Armani-clad shop assistants, T-shirted tourists and nonchalant locals who feign a complete disinterest in the United Nations before them – as only the Italians can. The pedestrian-only piazza and Spanish Steps can be approached from any direction, but the best is from the top, along Via Sistina, past the historic Hotel Hassler and twin-towered church of the Trinita dei Monti, and out onto the first viewpoint. The panorama is Rome at its most ravishing, a skyline of domes, spires and terracotta-tiled roofs dominated by the Basilica of St Peter’s at the Vatican across the River Tiber. Once you’ve negotiated the human waterfall that is the Spanish Steps, you emerge at the bottom in the lovely Piazza di Spagna, a wide and elegant square lined with private apartments, cafés and restaurants awash with flower-filled window boxes. The Keats-Shelley Memorial House at No.26, is stuffed with literary memories of the great English writers John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron, among others – who all lived in the piazza or nearby in the 19th century – and is well worth a visit as much for its private house setting as for its pleasant views of the Spanish Steps which run up the side. This should be followed by a reviving cup of Twinings at the very English Babington’s Tea Rooms, on the opposite side of the Scalinata, if you plan to take the next step on this Stairway to Heaven… It’s time to get the credit card out, because leading directly onto the Piazza di Spagna is Via Condotti, one of the world’s great shopping streets and Rome’s high altar of consumerism. From Gucci (at No.8) to Bvlgari (10), Louis Vuitton (15) and Armani (77), and everyone from Prada to Cartier and Valentino in between, this is a Roman holiday at its best (not to say most expensive), and is not for the faint-hearted given the blacksuited, Mafia-like security guards posted outside almost every entrance. The trick is to sweep past them like The Godfather, order Italian shoes, suits, bags and jewellery in your best Marlon Brando drawl, and have them sent round to your hotel – pronto! If you start flagging before the credit card, a double espresso at the legendary Café Greco (No.86, Via Condotti) will put you instantly back on track. And if things really start to go awry, you can always pop into the whisper-quiet Chiesa della Santissima Trinita, a lovely old church halfway along Via Condotti, and pray there’s enough money on the credit card to cover everything. After all this activity, it’s time to relax, and what better place than at Rome’s historic Hotel Hassler; with its box-seat position at the top of the Spanish Steps. One of the world’s great privately owned hotels – with 98 sumptuous guest rooms and suites, a Wellness Club, Palm Court Garden, and recently refurbished Rooftop Restaurant which offers dazzling city views and a menu to match by the hotel’s rising star Executive Chef Francesco Apreda – is the hotel of choice from royalty to political leaders, movie stars and musicians. Beware the entrance, which opens onto a treacherous corner of Rome’s infamous traffic races along Via Sistina, but once you’re inside the cool marble lobby, it’s an oasis of calm and luxury. And here’s a secret: The Hassler also operates a small but fabulous four-suite hideaway called Il Palazetto, located right next to the Spanish Steps which is actually cheaper to stay at than the Hassler. This gorgeous 16th century Roman retreat, which doubles as the current headquarters of the International Wine Academy, has two restaurants in the Library Room and the Outdoor Garden, a wine bar (naturally), and a delightful rooftop terrace bar – the perfect place for a private viewing of the Spanish Steps. You can enjoy the facilities of the Hassler and bill your account back to Il Palazetto, or you can simply hide away in your suite, sip a chilled chianti classico on the terrace, and watch the world go by – step-by-step, of course. Luxe List Rooms at Hotel Hassler cost from 560 Euros (about A$950) per night and from 215 to 345 Euros (A$360 to $590) at Il Palazetto, | |||||
| www.hotelhassler.com Bookings, The Leading Hotels of the World, 02 9377 8444, toll-free 1800 222 033, www.lhw.com | |||||
| Further details, Italian Government Tourist Office, (02) 9262 1666. | |||||
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