Before dawn on Tuesday, an 80-year-old Italian man behind the wheel of a Mercedes A-Class tried to navigate the sedan down the iconic steps, which are closed to vehicles, according to Rome’s police department. The car made it part of the way down but got stuck, the authorities said.

An 80-year-old man has told police he was “wrong” to drive down Rome’s famed Spanish Steps, after firefighters had to recover his vehicle from the landmark in the early hours of Tuesday.