Who Owns the Spanish Steps? Tensions Arise between France and Italy

The Spanish Steps, one of Rome’s most popular tourist sites, are now at the center of a dispute over their ownership. The building of the steps, designed by Italian architects Francesco De Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi in the 1700s, were both commissioned and funded by France. In addition to the Spanish Steps, France, having been granted ownership over certain religious sites by papal authority in the late 1700s, has come to own numerous properties in the center of Rome. This debate has come about following a French desire to clarify the ownership of the Spanish Steps in order to maintain and restore the historic landmark; a task that has been completed by Italy so far.

The Italian response to this underscores the fact that many Italian works are hanging in French museums, most existing there as a result of Napoleon’s looting during his conquests. Historically speaking, the two countries’ interactions with one another have resulted in important artifacts, art, and properties existing in the hands of one another. Clarifying the ownership of the Spanish Steps in an attempt to honor documents produced hundreds of years prior may lead to more conflicts surrounding how the two countries deal with concluding who has ownership over what in modern times.

Though, in the past, there have been pressures from Italy to reclaim artifacts and properties from the French government, these have not come to fruition. France, in bringing up the issue of ownership regarding the Spanish Steps, emphasizes that their main concern is keeping the steps in good condition. There is no current clarification about who owns the steps at this date, however the G7 Ministers Meeting on Culture held in Naples and Pompeii last weekend may provide movement towards a conclusion.

Sources:

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/09/20/stairway-to-tension-france-and-italy-dispute-ownership-of-spanish-steps

https://www.britannica.com/place/Spanish-Steps

-Samantha Wolfe