Piazza
/piˈættsa/noun
An open public square or a spacious colonnaded area, especially in an Italian city.
Did you know?Piazza ultimately comes from a Greek word for a “pressed/flattened” place, so every grand square in Europe carries the memory of land made level for people, trade, and control.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
πλατεῖα (plateîa)
“a broad street or open, wide way”
Late Latin
Latin
plattia / platea
“a broad street, public square”
Old Italian
Ital.
piazza
“a square, open public space”
Middle French
French
place
“an open space, square, or site”
Modern English
English
piazza
“a public square, especially in Italy; also a veranda or open gallery in older usage”