Plaza
public square in the center of a town or city / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open public space in a city, such as a city square. In Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each city had three things: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, 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 a space where many people could be together at once. Similar to Italian piazzas, plazas are still a center of community life, like the market-place.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Valladolid-plaza.jpg/320px-Valladolid-plaza.jpg)
For the hotel in New York City, see Plaza Hotel.
Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could gather.
A plaza de toros is a bullring.