Plaza
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Plaza (pronounced /ˈplɑːzə/; Spanish: [ˈplaθa]) is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace, and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was the space where a large crowd might gather. Like the Italian piazza, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equalled by the market-place.
Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could be mustered, as the name implies, surrounded by the governor's palace and the main church.
A plaza de toros is a bullring.
In modern usage, a plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc.
The Italian cognate is Piazza, the Portuguese Praça, the French Place, the Romanian Piața, the German Platz and the Greek Πιάτσα
Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could be mustered, as the name implies, surrounded by the governor's palace and the main church.
A plaza de toros is a bullring.
In modern usage, a plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc.
The Italian cognate is Piazza, the Portuguese Praça, the French Place, the Romanian Piața, the German Platz and the Greek Πιάτσα
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