Piazza Navona and the Fontana (fountain) del Moro in central Rome, Italy. The fountain in the background is Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.

A piazza (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjattsa]) is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza. In Ethiopia, it is used to refer to a part of a city.

When the Earl of Bedford developed Covent Garden - the first private-venture public square built in London - his architect Inigo Jones surrounded it with arcades, in the Italian fashion. Talk about the piazza was connected in Londoners' minds, not with the square as a whole but with the arcades.

In Britain piazza now generally refers to a paved open pedestrian space, without grass or planting, often in front of a significant building or shops. King's Cross Station in London is to have a piazza as part of its redevelopment. The piazza will replace the existing 1970's concourse and allow the original 1850's façade to be seen again. There is a good example of a piazza in Scotswood at Newcastle College.

In the United States, in the early 19th century, a piazza by further extension became a fanciful name for a colonnaded porch. Piazza was used by some, especially in the Boston area, to refer to a front porch of a house or apartment.^[1]

Piazza is a common last name for Italians and Italian-Americans. The name grew out of the region surrounding Venice. Populations of Piazza live in Calabria, Sicily, and Venice.

A central square just off Gibraltar's Main Street, between the Parliament building and the City Hall officially named John Mackintosh Square is colloquially referred to as The Piazza.

[edit] References

1. ^ Boston University, "Boston English"

[edit] See also

• Town square
• Plaza
• List of city squares

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