Step on it! Man drives down Rome tourist treasure

ROME (Reuters) - A man was arrested before dawn on Wednesday as he drove his Toyota Celica down the Spanish steps, one of Rome's most popular tourist spots where visitors are usually banned from drinking and singing, let alone driving.

Photographs showed police surrounding the sports car as it neared the bottom of the sweeping 18th-century staircase, almost reaching the Piazza di Spagna.

Police told Italian media the driver was a 24-year-old man of Colombian origin who had turned left at the Trinita dei Monti church at the top of the staircase, apparently mistaking the steps for a road.

He was found to be twice above the legal limit for alcohol, media reported.