The Salita dei Borgia is the name of the stairs that connect the Via Cavour to Piazza San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The stairs leading down from Via Cavour end up on the Via Urbana, one of the city’s most picturesque streets.
Salita dei Borgia Rome
History and description
The official name of the Salita dei Borgia is Via di San Francesco di Paola. This picturesque staircase is also called Scalinata dei Borgia. The archway giving access to Piazza San Pietro in Vincolo is called the Arco dei Borgia and the palace above it Palazzo dei Borgia.
The Arco dei Borgia is graced with an aedicula. Above the arch is a balcony. This used to be called the Balcone di Vannozza, after the mistress of Pope Alexander VI, whose real name was Rodrigo Lenzol Borgia.
The Scalinata dei Borgia runs where the ancient Roman Vicus Verbius and the Vicus Sceleratus used to be. The name of the latter street was due to a legend, which tells that Tullia had driven there with her chariot over the corpse of her father, the penultimate king of Rome, Servio Tullio.