piazza

/piˈɑtsə/

/piˈɒtsə/

Other forms: piazzas

Most cities and large towns have a central outdoor gathering place or town square — in Italy, this is called a piazza. Some piazzas have benches, statues, and fountains.

The most famous piazza in the world is probably the Piazza San Marco in Venice, but there are several piazzas in almost every Italian city, and the word is commonly used in Ethiopia as well. London's first public square, Covent Garden, was modeled after Italian piazzas. In the U.S., it's more common for this word to mean "porch lined with columns," instead of "town square," and for unknown reasons, this usage is especially common in the Boston area.

Definitions of piazza

1. noun

   a public square with room for pedestrians
   synonyms: place, plaza

   type of:

   public square, square

   an open area at the meeting of two or more streets