A man has been charged with “aggravated damage to cultural and monumental assets” after driving his Maserati down Rome’s famous building Trinita Dei Monti, also known as the Spanish Steps.
The world-famous monument was constructed between 1723 and 1725 and has appeared in films such as Roman Holiday, The Talented Mr Ripley, and The Man From Uncle.
The incident, which occurred in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, was caught on camera.
Still, photos from the clip show the automobile starting its precipitous descent from the top of the 135-step staircase.
The driver sped away from the scene.
The vehicle’s data led detectives to a car rental company in Milan, where they could obtain information about the driver.
To find him, Border Police collaborated with authorities in Rome.
When he sought to return the car, the 37-year-old foreign national, who was not identified, was detained at Malpensa airport in northern Italy.
According to CNN, the car fractured the 16th and 29th steps of the right-hand stairway in Rome’s heritage protection agency.
The steps have been temporarily repaired to allow pedestrian use to continue.
“The person responsible for the damage to Trinita Dei Monti has been traced down and reported,” officers subsequently wrote on Facebook.
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The Spanish Steps run from the Piazza di Spagna (one of Rome’s most famous squares) to the Piazza Trinita Dei Monti church at the top of a steep slope.
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