Squares in Paris Clichy". The French use of the word "place", —— where, in the USA, the UK, Canada, etc., an English-speaker would use the word "square", —— follows the pattern established in other European languages: the Spanish use the cognate, "plaza" (like Madrid's "Plaza Mayor"); the Germans use "platz" (Berlin's "Potsdamer Platz"); the Italians use "piazza" (Rome's "Piazza Navona"); etc. So, in summary, the French have "squares" that might (or, more likely, might not) be called "squares" in English, and they use the word "place" to denote what an anglophone would almost certainly call a "square". To make things a bit more
Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, Bologna Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, Bologna The Piazza di Porta Ravegnana (originariamente Porta Ravennate) is a city square in the central of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Piazza, located some four blocks east of the Piazza Maggiore and Cathedral of Bologna, is the site of the Two Towers of Bologna. The Piazza was named for the presence nearby of the ancient Roman Gate that led to the Via Emilia leading to Ravenna. A number of major arteries converge at the Piazza, including the Strada Maggiore, the Via Castiglione, Via Zamboni (leading to the many buildings of the University of Bologna),