The Spanish Steps, an iconic monument of the capital, are at the center of a dispute that erupted after a recent report by the Court of Auditors of Paris, which criticizes the "approximate" management of the five French churches in Rome - including Trinità dei Monti, which overlooks the steps - and denounces "opaque" and "derivative" decisions, claiming ownership of them from France.
"Well, we will send experts to the Louvre to make an updated survey of the goods stolen from Italy throughout history, especially that of the 19th century or donated by geniuses perhaps forced to give up renowned works of art that have made the Louvre the most visited museum in the world. The comical," comments Fabio Rampelli, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies of Fratelli d'Italia.
But the French "real estate and spiritual" heritage in Rome - which consists of five French-speaking churches and 13 other buildings in the historic center including the splendid Villa Medici - is administered by the 'Pieux établissements de la France a Rome', an institution placed directly under the authority of the French embassy to the Holy See.
The entrustment of the five churches of Rome to the French institution that manages them is part of bilateral international agreements between France and the Holy See. These agreements, in turn, derive from a decision taken by Pope Pius VI in 1790, who instructed Cardinal de Bernis, French ambassador to the Holy See, to group together all the religious buildings in Rome and place them under his tutelage.
During fascism, the representatives of the French embassy to the Vatican were asked to return the assets of the Pieux établissements and the Villa Medici. The French ambassador and his advisor were forbidden to leave the Vatican, where they took refuge after 1940 to avoid the expulsion of the diplomatic corps that instead befell their colleagues at the French embassy in Italy.
(Online Union)