Place d'Italie, Square in the 13th arrondissement, Paris
Place d'Italie is a large urban square in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where several major avenues converge. It has a central landscaped area with lawns, sculptures, and a reflecting pool, surrounded by buildings from different periods.
The square dates to the early 18th century, when it served as a city gate on the road leading south toward Italy. Over the following centuries it was reshaped several times, most notably during the broad urban works carried out under Haussmann in the 19th century.
The Place d'Italie sits at the edge of one of Paris's main Asian neighborhoods, and that presence shapes the streets around it, from food shops to restaurants serving Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. People use the square itself as a meeting point, stopping between errands or sitting at a terrace before moving on.
The square is easy to reach by metro and works well as a starting point for exploring the surrounding neighborhood. The junction can be busy and a bit confusing to cross, but the central green area gives a clear landmark to orient yourself.
The name of the square has nothing to do with any Italian community but simply marks where the old road out of Paris toward Italy began. That southern axis shaped the whole development of this part of the city over the centuries.
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