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A church, a flight of steps and a fountain form the most elegant and complex Roman urban site. Inside the church at the top, are many chapels belonging to noble Roman families. This is the church of Trinita' dei Monti, started in 1502 and consacrated eighty years later, for the will of the French kings who dedicated it to Saint Francis of Paola. Notice the double ramp staircase and the twin belltowers. At the beginning the 17th century, Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo, built for Pope Urban VIII the unusual boat-shaped fountain. A century later, the third marvel was built to connect these two works of art: the Staircase of the Trinita' dei Monti, a wonderful Baroque creation. Built in 1723 by the architect Francesco De Santis, it consists of a succession of ramps each made up of twelve steps (total of a hundred and thirty eight steps). Wagner, Liszt, Balzac, Stendhal, Rubens, Tennyson, Byron e Keats, and many other different artists loved to live in the sorroundings that are today crowded with the highest italian fashion boutiques.
