Dispute over ownership of Spanish Steps reignited by French audit

A recent French audit asserting that French funds were used to construct the Spanish Steps has sparked renewed debate regarding the ownership of the Trinità dei Monti complex in Rome. Two significant works—Pio Pecchiai's 1941 publication "La scalinata di Piazza di Spagna" and Carlo Alberto Ferrari's 1965 text "I viventi diritti dell'Italia a palazzo Farnese, alla scalinata e alla Trinità de' Monti"—contend that the staircase and piazza belong to the Italian public. Pecchiai emphasizes that Italian benefactors financed the project, countering the claims of French diplomat Stefano Gueffier. In the 1960s, Ferrari, an honorary inspector, refuted the French assertions, referencing court decisions that supported public ownership. The origins of the dispute trace back to 1494, with the staircase constructed between 1660 and 1726 for public accessibility.