The hordes of tourists taking selfies on the Spanish Steps in Rome last week did not seem perturbed by prosaic matters such as who owned the stone they stood on. Neither did the carabinieri prowling with the threat of a $280 fine for anyone who, emulating Audrey Hepburn, sat down.
But away from the bustle, Europe’s most famous staircase has become the subject of an international dispute between old rivals, after the resurfacing of a forgotten fact.
