piazza

American  

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

noun

• piazzas,
  plural
• piazze
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• piazzaed
  adjective
• piazzian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• piazzas
  plural
• piazze
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piazza

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piazza piazzas piazze

While the group phase was reaching its dramatic culmination in North America, retiree Stefania Tentarelli went to her cobblestone local piazza to watch fellow pensioners play an 18th-century Neapolitan card game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

The US-born pope drew excited crowds when he arrived in his popemobile at a piazza in Acerra, a city of around 60,000 people.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

Three elements cinched it: The views from the road above were stunning, the piazza charmed, and what would become something of a location star for rapt viewers, “the incredible network of stairs, alleys and passageways.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2024

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

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

He strapped Hazel’s sword to his belt, morphed his backpack into a quiver and bow, and raced toward the piazza where he’d fought the cow monsters.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Bari Vecchia—or “old” Bari—is a dizzying but inviting warren of white-stone alleyways and sunny piazzas that make up the historic heart of the city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025

Some 50 horse-drawn carriages transport the oranges to piazzas throughout the town, where teams gather to pelt each other with oranges.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024

Norman Powell celebrated his 30th birthday in May by touring Italy’s Amalfi Coast, posting pictures of himself in piazzas and on private boats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2024

Several Italian streets, piazzas and lecture halls are named after him, as is a moon crater near the Mare Humorum.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2023

Everywhere he looked, there were wide piazzas and traffic-clogged streets.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Troops were confined to barracks and kept in readiness for any emergency; strong posses of police guarded all strategic points; cavalry bivouacked in many piazze of many towns.

From Time Magazine Archive

Young volunteers rushed about with paintbrushes, paste pots and bills, to plaster Italy's piazze and palazzi, walls and ruins with the confusingly mixed-up slogans and emblems of about 18 different political parties.

From Time Magazine Archive

The life in the piazze and on the streets, the crowds in the shops, the pageants, the lights, the stir, the color, all mightily took the eye of the young Dane.

From A Midnight Fantasy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

The streets and piazze of the city are celebrated for their splendid palaces, formerly, and in many cases even to-day the residences of the noble families of Florence.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

Sacchetti describes the borghi,-180- contrade, and piazze of Florence; and his speech is seasoned with rare Tuscan salt of wit.

From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by John Addington Symonds