Piazza Santo Stefano also known as Piazza delle Sette Chiese (Seven churches square) is a

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Italy. It is a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

, in a triangular space near the beginning of Via Santo Stefano, both of which are named after the Basilica of Santo Stefano which is located on the piazza. Often used for cultural events, flea-markets and concerts, it has

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

s along both long sides (North-East and South-West) with the Basilica occupying the short (South-East) side. To the left of the Basilica is a complex of buildings joined by the powerful medieval Isolani family. From the left side you can reach

Strada Maggiore Strada is a chain based in the United Kingdom of branded restaurants specialising in Italian cuisine with two Strada sites and six Coppa Clubs, all in Southern England. History The concept was spawned by Luke Johnson in 2000 and, over five ...

(formerly the

Via Aemilia The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ...

) via the Corte Isolani passage which was created in renovations to the Palazzo Isolani in 1999. On the right is

Palazzo Bolognini Amorini Salina The Palazzo Bolognini Amorini Salina is a Renaissance architecture palace located on Piazza Santo Stefano (Via Santo Stefano 9–11) in the center of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Palace is notable by its circular niches with busts ...

, notable for its frieze with terracotta heads, and the "Case Tacconi", a good example of Bolognese merchant houses of the fifteenth century.

External links

Piazza Santo Stefano
at BolognaWelcome.com

Santo Stefano Santo Stefano is the Italian name of Saint Stephen. Santo Stefano may also refer to: Places Islands *Santo Stefano (island), an island in Sardinia, Italy *Santo Stefano Island, an island in the Pontine Islands, Italy Cities, towns and villages i ...

Monuments and historic places of Bologna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub