piazza

American  

[pee-az-uh, -ah-zuh, pee-at-suh, -aht-, pyaht-tsah] / piˈæz ə, -ˈɑ zə, piˈæt sə, -ˈɑt-, ˈpyɑt tsɑ /

noun

plural

piazzas,

plural

piazze

1. an open square or public place in a city or town, especially in Italy.

2. Chiefly New England and Inland South. a large porch on a house; veranda.

3. Chiefly British. an arcade or covered walk or gallery, as around a public square or in front of a building.

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piazza British  

/ ˈpjattsa, pɪˈætsə, -ˈædzə /

noun

1. a large open square in an Italian town

2. a covered passageway or gallery

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piazza Cultural  

1. An open square, especially in a city or town in Italy.

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Other Word Forms

• piazzaed adjective
• piazzian adjective

Etymology

Origin of piazza

1575–85; < Italian < Latin platēa courtyard, originally, street < Greek plateîa, noun use of feminine of platýs flat ¹. See place

Example Sentences

“Sitting outside in the sun on a beautiful piazza with your friends and food is hugely aspirational for the rest of the world,” Hunt said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Enzo Resta, a longtime resident and founder of the Bolinas Film Festival, compared the Bolinas post office to an Italian piazza — a place of serendipitous run-ins and “the poetry of community engagement.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2025

One camp, at Warwick University, has been set up in the town's piazza for a week.

From BBC • May 1, 2024

He then greeted the crowd before being wheeled out of the piazza.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2024

Then there was a great heaving, and the humans were deposited on a wide piazza, surrounded on two sides by the wings of what looked to be an ancient stone library.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell