Spanish Steps Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps () are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The monumental stairway of 174 steps (the slightly elevated drainage system is often mistaken for the first step) was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 "scudi", in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above — to
Spanish City (novel) funfair that inspired Spanish City. Setton is loosely based on the north-eastern English coastal resort of Whitley Bay, where the funfair, ballroom and pleasure palace collectively named The Spanish City was once located. All that currently remains of the Spanish City site is its distinctive white dome and a former ballroom, both of which are to be redeveloped. The town and river of Wiley in the novel, along with its ferry, are probably based on the town and river of Blyth, a few miles to the north of Whitley Bay. Blyth also once had a ferry that carried passengers from