You aren’t supposed to drive on the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. Even if you’ve never seen them, the name makes it pretty obvious that they’re steps and therefore not for cars. Then again, you’ve almost definitely seen them since they were featured prominently in 2023’s “Fast X.” Alternatively, if you’re too much of a snob to enjoy the “Fast & Furious” franchise, they were also used in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” Anyway, presumably in an attempt to recreate one of those scenes, an elderly man drove his decade-old Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatchback onto the Spanish Steps on Tuesday and got himself stuck, ABC News reports.
Upon reading that, I’m sure you also assumed the man in question was an American tourist, but while more information may come out and change things, at least for now, I haven’t been able to find a source that includes the man’s nationality, so odds are, he’s Italian. After all, you have to assume European newspapers would’ve been all over an American doing something stupid like that. Instead, all we really know is that he’s 80 years old and didn’t test positive for alcohol on his breath.
Few answers for now
Local authorities cited the man when they arrived but have not released his name or confirmed whether he personally owned the car or not. They also have yet to clarify whether or not he was using GPS navigation, which could possibly help explain how he got turned around. Considering he’s reportedly 80, it wouldn’t be surprising if we eventually found out there were age-related issues at play, and he really shouldn’t have been driving anymore, but at least for now, there’s no evidence to support that theory.
Arguably, no one should drive in Rome because there’s too much traffic.
Authorities were able to remove the car, but to avoid damaging the Steps, which were first built back in the 1720s, they ended up bringing in a crane to lift it to safety. ABC News also reports that local authorities did not respond to a request for more information, so it’s possible we may never know more about what happened.
This also isn’t the first time someone has driven a car down Rome’s Spanish Steps or even the first incident in recent memory. Back in 2022, a 37-year-old Saudi man drove his rented Maserati down the steps and was later arrested at the airport in Milan, CNN reports. Following his arrest, he was charged with aggravated damage to cultural heritage and monuments, as his little escapade broke the 16th and 29th steps on the right side of the monument.
The vehicle was safely removed by the fire brigade pic.twitter.com/IV7ZMuSByd
— Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) June 17, 2025