A 28-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were arrested by a camera at the World Heritage Site in the early hours of last Friday. According to Rome police, the woman “deliberately launched the scooter” under the 18th-century Trinità de Monti staircase. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that they caused damages of 25,000 euros (.4 21,400). In a video shared by the newspaper, the man is seen holding his scooter from the steering wheel, while his partner is throwing her own half step. The couple were stopped by police and fined 400 euros each (3 343) and banned from going to Piazza di Spagna for two days, the newspaper reported. It comes just weeks after a man drove his Maserati off the steps and was accused of “aggravating damage to cultural and monumental property”. Rome’s cultural heritage body said the car caused fractures on the 16th and 29th steps of the right staircase. In recent years, marble steps have been discolored by pollution, as well as stains from spilled wine and coffee. The luxury jewelry store Bulgari financed the restoration of the stairs with 1.5 million euros in 2015. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:35 Rome: Car goes down the Spanish Steps In 2019, tourists were banned from sitting on the steps in an effort to crack down on unruly visitors. The landmark became famous from the 1953 film Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It is classified as one of the architectural masterpieces of Rome and was designed by Francesco de Sanctis between 1723 and 1726.
