France claims ownership over Spanish Steps in Rome

Italy vehemently disagrees with the pronouncement made by the French Court of Auditors

One of Rome’s most famous tourist magnets – the Spanish Steps – has become the subject of a legal and media dispute between France and Italy after the French Court of Auditors issued a report criticizing the maintenance of that country’s properties in the Italian capital.

The court report itself doesn’t focus on the Spanish Steps per se, known in Italian as Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti, but rather issues criticism about the maintenance of the five French churches, controlled by a foundation called Pieux établissements de la France a Rome (French pious establishments in Rome). Among these churches is also the Trinità dei Monti temple that sits atop the famous Baroque staircase. Both the church and the stairs were built on the orders of French kings using French funding and French architects.

The Court of Auditors affirmed these historical facts, which were interpreted as a claim to ownership over the Spanish Steps as part of the real estate portfolio of the French Republic in Rome. By the way, that portfolio consists of some 180 rental properties, offices, shops and apartments that generate an annual income of 4.5 million euros for the French state.

Is it just a matter of misunderstanding?

The agreement over these holdings dates back to a 1790 agreement between France and the Vatican (back then all of Rome was part of the Papal States) that grouped together all of the European country’s holdings into one portfolio.

What complicates the issue is that since the end of the 19^th century, the Spanish Steps have been maintained, including restorations, by the City of Rome and the Italian State.

Rome's superintendent of cultural heritage, Claudio Parisi Presicce, responded to the debate by stating that the Spanish Steps "are a monumental place and of very high artistic value but they are also a public passage and are therefore without discussion an integral part of Rome, the capital of Italy," according to Wanted in Rome.

Italy’s tourism minister, Daniela Santanche, was even more radical stating: “What would France be without Italy…They even want to take the Spanish Steps.” Other politicians chimed in claiming that in that case, Italy should request its works of art from the Louvre.

Pierre Moscovici, the President of the French Court of Auditors, however, responded with surprise, saying that the report was only asking for clarification on the situation of the assets.

Most tourists and people around the world would probably be surprised that Spain is also not involved in the ownership dispute given the name of the famous site. The name of the Spanish Steps, however, comes from the Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Square) adjacent to the staircase.