Plaza
A
plaza /ˈplɑːzə/ is an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies, 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 equaled by the market-place. Most colonial cities in Spanish America and the Philippines 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.