Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, Pedestrian square in the university district of Bologna, Italy

Piazza Giuseppe Verdi is a pedestrian square in the university district of Bologna, bordered on different sides by the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Palazzo Paleotti, and one flank of the Basilica di San Giacomo Maggiore. The square opens onto Via Zamboni and is paved with wide flat stones, with benches placed around the open space.

The square grew in the 15th century as the open space in front of the Bentivoglio palace and was first named after that family. After the palace was destroyed in 1506, it was called Piazza di Santa Cecilia in the 18th century, after the parish church of Santa Cecilia on the same side as San Giacomo. For a long time it was not officially named and was treated as part of Via Zamboni; it was dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi only in 1951.

Piazza Giuseppe Verdi sits at the center of Bologna's university district, and students fill the space on most days of the week. The Via Zamboni, which runs alongside, is lined with cafes and bookshops that draw a young, active crowd from morning to late at night.

The square is fully car-free and easy to reach on foot from the city center, making it a natural starting point for exploring the university district. The surrounding streets are at their most active in the evening, so a visit after dark gives a very different feel from the daytime.

The stretch of the second city wall on the southwest side of the square was brought back to light in 1906. The buildings on the southeast side once housed the Bentivoglio stables. Approaching from the Due Torri along Via Zamboni, the square comes after Piazza Rossini, home to Bologna's conservatory.