Piazzas are important in Italy as they serve to provide a large pedestrian gathering place outside a building that is important to the community as a whole. In smaller villages, there is usually only one, and most communities in Europe it seems stil uses its town square as the house of it's mayor and as a general meeting place. It's very practical.
In the US we have more space and we lack the old buildings being already in place. As far as meeting places go, we have a tendancy to enjoy meeting indoors. However, we still use the idea of a piazza quite frequently. The biggest piazza in the US I think is the Mall in Washington DC. From the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and Capitol Building the Mall serves as a gather place for all Americans. Mostly, it is the sight of the Inauguration of the President, but it also serves as a gather place for all who wish to see these monuments that are so important to American history.
Also, I think that the area of the Ohio State House acts as a piazza where many protests are held when Ohioians have issues with the government. It also gives plenty of room for outdoor gatherings which happen frequently.
Some cities may also have this sort of set up, where an area is boxed off and used as a central meeting point. I think it's not exactly the same in the US but it definitely appears to be an idea brought over from Europe.
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Sara, i would have to agree with you that Washington is one of the largest piazzas the United States has. Although, I do beleive that each town has a piazza (town square) where the necessary buildings and shops make the town thrive.
RispondiEliminaSarah, I appreciate your take on the Piazza's. You brought to my attention many U.S. Piazza's that I hadnt thought of and in doing so you have done your Nation a great service, haha.
RispondiEliminaI never really thought of the Mall in D.C. as a piazza type of structure before. Now that I think about it, the Mall really does resemble an Italian piazza because it is the center of the city, as the piazza is the center of a neighborhood. I would have to agree that the U.S. idea of a piazza is not necessarily the same as an Italian piazza, but the idea was taken from Europeans and brought to the States.
RispondiElimina+++
RispondiEliminaI do not think that the mall in DC is anything like a piazza and the US lacks the idea of a piazza in its culture.