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—piazzaed, adj. —piazzian, adj./pee az"euh, -ah"zeuh/ or, for 1, 3 esp. Brit., /pee at"seuh, -aht"-/; for 1 also It. /pyaht"tsah/, n., pl. piazzas, It. piazze /pyaht"tse/.1. an open square or public place in a city or town, esp. in Italy.2. Chiefly New Eng. and Inland South. a large porch on a house; veranda.3. Chiefly Brit. an arcade or covered walk or gallery, as around a public square or in front of a building.[1575-85; < It < L platea courtyard, orig., street < Gk plateîa, n. use of fem. of platýs FLAT1. See PLACE]
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Open square or marketplace, surrounded by buildings, in an Italian town or city.It was equivalent to the plaza of Spanish-speaking countries. The term became more widely used in the 16th–18th century, denoting any large open space with buildings around it. In 17th–18th-century Britain, long covered walks or galleries with roofs supported by columns were called piazzas; in the U.S. in the 19th century, piazza was another name for a veranda formed by projecting eaves.* * *
▪ Italian squaresquare or marketplace in an Italian town or city. The word is cognate with the French and English “place” and Spanish “plaza,” all ultimately derived from the Greek plateia, “broad street.” The most celebrated Italian piazza is that designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Bernini, Gian Lorenzo) in front of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. It is 650 feet (198 m) wide, being bounded on the sides by fourfold Tuscan colonnades.The name became more widely used from the 16th to the 18th century, denoting any large open space with buildings around it. In 17th- and 18th-century England, long covered walks or galleries with roofs supported by columns were called piazzas, and, in the United States during the 19th century, piazza was another name for a veranda formed by projecting eaves.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
