An Overview of Piazzas

I thought it would be nice to begin wrapping up my blog posts about piazzas in Rome by defining what a space needs to have to be considered a piazza. I thought about this the other day on my 20 minute walk home from class because in that time I passed at least ten areas that are considered piazzas. All of these spaces were extremely different though. Some were incredibly large, full of tourists, restaurants, and entertainers while others were simply a place for cars to park.

It turns out that to be considered a piazza there just needs to be an open public space. There are no specific guidelines besides that. Although piazzas are typical in Italy, they are found in other regions and can be compared to the Spanish plaza.

Piazzas are used for social gatherings and entertainment. They are the center of Italian life and are almost always filled with people engaging with one another and the culture around them. Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, and Piazza del Popolo are three of the largest piazzas in Rome and my three favorite.They are big tourist attractions but are also frequented by locals as well. Some of my favorite memories of the past seven weeks have occurred in these piazzas.

In Piazza Navona, at night, I was able to see Tom Hanks and Ron Howard during the filming of Angels and Demons. I was only twenty feet from two of the biggest names in Hollywood. It was something I will remember for the rest of my life. I can not wait for the film to come out in theaters so that I can recognize different places in Rome that appear and to see the scene that I saw them film.

In Piazza di Spagna, at night, most of the people in the CAS program and myself gathered to experience the piazza at night on the steps. It was a great way for everyone to bond together, outside under the clear night's sky. It was interesting to see how we interacted with each other compared to the Italian teenagers. Besides the obvious clothing attire difference, I found the Italians to be enjoying themselves in much smaller groups than we were. The live music they provided us with though was wonderful and all in English!

"Piazza." Wikipedia. 22 Jan 2008. 25 Jun 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza.