Ston and Mali Ston, Croatia

The two settlements (Mali Ston meaning Little Ston) form an interesting system, for they are linked by some of the longest fortifications in Europe, originally over 7km long, with almost 5km remaining today. The walls climb and descend along with a hill, which separates the two settlements. Mali Ston was founded in 1333, as part of a defensive system meant to protect the citadel of Dubrovnik, whilst Ston is among the first settlements of the time built according to a clearly established plan, with straight streets, administrative buildings and residential spaces. In Mali Ston, the port has the role of the square, as is traditionally the case in most Mediterranean settlements. By contrast, Ston’s square was designed as an independent space, yet still on the outskirts of the settlement.

Masarykovo náměstí from Nový Jičín, Czech Republic

From its highly regulated structure, it appears that this town was founded at the end of the 13th century, most likely from nothing, on the grounds of a barren field. Its square, with its nearly even sides, includes buildings with very different styles. It has been deemed the most beautiful square north of the Alps, and is surrounded on all sides by arches, constructed in 1503 after a great fire destroyed the older, mostly wooden houses. The purpose of the arches was to provide shelter for trading stands, and to connect to the entrance of the mazhaus, as the large rooms on the ground floor were called. Other fires affected the square in 1768 and 1773, so that the façades were rebuilt in Historicist and Neo-Classical styles in the 19th century. At the centre of the square is a splendid plague column, erected to commemorate the plague of 1680. There is also a statue of Saint Nicholas, protector both of children and trade, and a fountain called “the fountain of time,” for the water’s movements are synchronous with the clock in the City Hall. Nový Jičín features the oldest hat factory in Europe, and one of the buildings in the square houses a museum dedicated to this history. 

    Praça de Santa Maria, Óbidos, Portugal

    Óbidos is the stereotypical portrait of a medieval city: a closed world; a world onto itself; hierarchical; assembled around a centre; and marked by its square and its Cathedral; a settlement surrounded by walls. Óbidos is one of the few medieval settlements whose original walls are still intact. Praça de Santa Maria contains its most important buildings: the Casa da Picota, dating from the 15th century; a vertical fountain; an old covered square; and, of course, the Igreja de Santa Maria, renowned as the site of Alfonso V’s marriage to Isabella, his eight-year-old cousin.

    Plaza del Coso from Peñafiel, Spain

    Peñafiel is by no means famous for its square, but rather for its wines and the massive medieval castle that dominates this settlement. Plaza del Coso is nonetheless very interesting from a historical and urbanistic perspective. It is a very large square – 3500 square meters in size– unpaved, and surrounded by 48 houses, all with suspended wooden balconies. Those still standing today date from the 18th and 19th centuries, but the square essentially looked the same in the Middle Ages. In summer, during the celebration of San Roque, bullfighting is organised here. On Easter Sunday, the Descent of the Angel ceremony is held here. The buildings are privately owned, but the balconies have always been considered public property, and are used on such occasions for watching the spectacles and rituals in the square. Plaza del Coso was originally intended as an entertainment arena, which was very interesting for the Middle Ages. Neither the City Hall nor the cathedral are located here. However, chronologically speaking, it is considered one of the first major squares in Spain. 

    Terreiro da Sé from Porto, Portugal

    Terreiro da Sé is a paradox. Although Terreiro, the square of the Porto Cathedral, is surrounded by old buildings and seems to have existed forever – or at least since medieval times – it is actually a modern creation, dating from 1940, designed to showcase the Cathedral. In order to construct this square, a relatively large number of buildings had to be demolished– among them the Chapel of Tailors – and rebuilt in other areas of the city. The column at the centre of the square is also new, dating from 1945, when the municipality finished working on Terreiro da Sé.

    Titov Trg from Buzet, Croatia

    The incredibly small church square in Buzet is positioned at the highest point of this settlement. However, it affords no sense of perspective, giving one the sensation of being an interior space, since its small perimeter makes the buildings in the square seem much taller than they actually are, and the sky only a small detail in the far distance. Buzet is yet another Istrian hill town, once fortified by the Venetians as the base of their rule in this area. Its strange-sounding name comes from the word “buză” in the Istro-Romanian dialect, which means „lip”.

    Piazza Grande from Palmanova, Italy

    Palmanova was built in 1593 as a military town, a star fort intended for the defence of Venice. The town knew fighting only once in its history, when Venice fought in the Grandisca War against Austria. Its structure, developed by Scamozzi, has remained unchanged to this day. 

    Although its basic shape is a polygon with nine sides, its central square has six sides, each one directly linked to the entries of the fort. The square could be isolated and defended by barricading the six arteries leading into it. However, this never proved necessary.

    Praça de D. Pedro IV from Lisbon, Portugal

    Although its official name is Praça de D. Pedro IV, this square is known by locals as Rossio. A site where important historical events have taken place, since medieval times it has been considered the heart of Lisbon. Around 1450, Paço dos Estaus was built on the northern side of the square, on the grounds of the existing theatre. The palace was originally used for hosting foreign dignitaries. It then became a seat of the Inquisition, and, as a result, Rossio was for many years a place of public executions. Its current look is largely due to its renovations planned by the Marquise of Pombal after the earthquake of 1755, coordinated by architects Eugénio dos Santos and Carlos Mardel. Its splendid pavement, a typical Portuguese mosaic, dates from the 19th century. A statue of King Pedro IV stands atop the central column, built in 1874, giving the square its official name.


    Piața Cetății from Alba Iulia, Romania

    Alba Iulia has the largest Vauban-style fortress in southeastern Europe. It was built between 1716 and 1735 on the site where a medieval citadel and a Roman castrum once stood. Designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Morando Visconti and approved by Eugene of Savoy, the fortress has six triumphal gates and seven bastions. At the exact geometrical centre of the star, it has a large quadrilateral square, typical of Vauban-style fortresses.

    Piazza della Libertà and Piazza Matteotti from Udine, Italy

    Piazza della Libertà is the oldest square in Udine, and is considered the most beautiful square on the terraferma, as the Venetian continental possessions were called. It was originally formed as an intersection between the main roads of the town, at the base of a hill with a castle and where a road designed by Palladio leads through an archway by the edge of the square.

    The scenography of this square is spectacular: the colonnade of the Palazzo del Comune mirrors that of the Loggia di San Giovanni on the opposite side. Its terrace with statues, columns, and a Renaissance fountain offer spatial dynamism. The line of the square is completed by a clock tower and, in the background, the outline of the castle. The entire composition can be seen from various angles through the columns of the square’s buildings. The nearby Piazza Matteotti is the second oldest in the town, built during the expansion of the fortified interior. Much simpler and with more empty space (it contains a single column and a single fountain), it provides an interesting contrast to the visual richness of Piazza della Libertà.

    Piața Mare and Piața Mică from Sibiu, Romania

    Called Großer Ring in German, Piața Mare was first mentioned in the 14th century. It served as a stage for main events but also as a site for public executions. The square contained, in typical central European style, a statue of Roland; a cage for the insane; and a column of St. John Nepomouk, which today stands in the courtyard of the Catholic church. Piața Mică, or the Small Ring, initially lay outside the town’s walls, and owes its existence to Sibiu’s second fortification. The houses built during that period followed the circular path of the old defence walls, which explains why the buildings in this square have a circular shape. The arches on the ground floor hosted shops belonging to the local guilds.

    Trg Slobode and Trg Marafor from Poreč, Croatia

    Trg Marafor, the largest square in the town of Poreč (or Parenzo in Italian), lies at the sea-end of a peninsula, with its name stemming from the words Mars and forum. Poreč was the site of an important Roman castrum. The forum held a temple to the god Mars, the greatest Roman temple on the eastern Adriatic. Several of its columns have survived to this day. The square has also preserved parts of its original 1st century pavement. The busiest street in the town is called Decumanus. In the Roman city-building system, decumanus was the name for arteries oriented on an east-west axis, with the decumanus maximus signifying the main artery of this type. The forum was built close to where it intersected with the main north-south artery, called cardo maximus. Between the cardomaximus and decumanus maximus, the cardo usually held the primary role. But sometimes, for geographical reasons, this hierarchy was reversed. This is precisely what happened in Poreč. The walled medieval town built its streets over those of the Roman castrum, copying their regular structure. On the other end of the peninsula one finds Trg Slobode, or Liberty Square, which is smaller and newer, but now serves as Poreč’s main square, as well as a meeting place for the Italian community, which maintains a strong presence in the town.

    Trg Marafor and Trg Slobode from Poreč, Croatia

    Trg Marafor, the largest square in the town of Poreč (or Parenzo in Italian), lies at the sea-end of a peninsula, with its name stemming from the words Mars and forum. Poreč was the site of an important Roman castrum. The forum held a temple to the god Mars, the greatest Roman temple on the eastern Adriatic. Several of its columns have survived to this day. The square has also preserved parts of its original 1st century pavement. The busiest street in the town is called Decumanus. In the Roman city-building system, decumanus was the name for arteries oriented on an east-west axis, with the decumanus maximus signifying the main artery of this type. The forum was built close to where it intersected with the main north-south artery, called cardo maximus. Between the cardomaximus and decumanus maximus, the cardo usually held the primary role. But sometimes, for geographical reasons, this hierarchy was reversed. This is precisely what happened in Poreč. The walled medieval town built its streets over those of the Roman castrum, copying their regular structure. On the other end of the peninsula one finds Trg Slobode, or Liberty Square, which is smaller and newer, but now serves as Poreč’s main square, as well as a meeting place for the Italian community, which maintains a strong presence in the town.

    Trg Rimskog Foruma from Zadar, Croatia

    The urban structure of present-day Zadar has its origins in the time of Julius Caesar. A Roman municipium, called Iader, was built here soon after the province of Illyricum was established in 59 BC. As unlikely as it would seem today, its regular structure is perfectly visible in the structure of the current town, despite the passing of years and the continuous inhabitations that could have modified it. The square is actually the Roman forum itself, the largest on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, and still features some columns and bits of original pavement.