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

The new works call for a tunnel to divert the oncoming traffic underneath the new pedestrian piazza.

From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024

The Piece Hall's central courtyard was levelled to create a new piazza with capacity for up to 7,500 people, and new lighting, seating and water features were installed.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2024

Halfway across the piazza, everything went wrong; but it had nothing to do with ghosts.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan